Jigarthanda Double X star Raghava Lawrence breaks silence on colour discrimination he faced

Tamil cinema is set to witness an exciting Diwali release with director Karthik Subbaraj's Jigarthanda Double X. Starring Raghava Lawrence and S J Suryah in leading roles, the period action comedy film has generated massive anticipation. In a recent interview, the actors spoke about the film and touched upon important themes related to it.

Raghava Lawrence says Rajinikanth broke stereotypes based on skin colour

In an interview with Gallata Plus, Raghava Lawrence shared his experiences regarding stereotypes based on skin colour. He highlighted how there have been instances in his life where he encountered discrimination due to his dark skin.  

The actor said that there were times when people in the film industry made comments about an individual's skin tone and drew comparisons with legendary actors like MGR and Kamal Haasan. He recalled how, even in group dances, preference was given to fair-skinned individuals over those with darker skin. He further added that Prabhu Deva's entry into the industry marked a shift as he would select people based on their talent.

He said, "Yes, there have been such instances in my life. 'Thalaivar' (Rajinikanth) was the one who broke that norm. At that time, a dark-skinned person also became a hero, rising to the range of 'Superstar' and giving us all the confidence. There have been times when there were people in cinema who would comment on a person's skin color and draw comparisons with MGR and Kamal Haasan.  So, after going through all such experiences, when I was introduced as the first dark-skinned hero, I felt very happy."

Raghava Lawrence says SJ Suryah added his own inputs in Jigarthanda Double X

Raghava Lawrence also shared how S J Suryah added his own inputs to elevate the character in Jigarthanda DoubleX. S J Suryah shared that in their first meeting, he playfully referred to Raghava Lawrence as 'mannin maindhan' (son of the soil) and 'karuppu vairam' (black diamond).

S J Suryah chimed in to reveal that he had requested the director to include these expressions in the film's dialogue, and the director readily accepted the concept.