Scene audio launch: Suriya promises a different Diwali

Suriya wants Scene to be the film audiences do not see coming. His pitch at the Scene audio and trailer launch in Chennai on October 31 was a cheerful combination of murder, mystery, madness and laughter. With Nazriya Nazim, Naslen, director Jithu Madhavan and composer Sushin Shyam joining him, and Jyotika, Karthi and Sivakumar there for the occasion, the evening gave the November 6 release a proper family send-off.

This is Suriya’s third release of the year, following Karuppu and Vishwanath & Sons, and he spoke about wanting each film to offer something different. As Only Kollywood reported from the speeches, he asked audiences to leave the inflated expectations outside and come ready to enjoy themselves. He also recalled the earlier year in his career when Maayavi, Ghajini and Aaru arrived together. The pleasure, for him, was in changing the experience from one film to the next.

For Nazriya, the evening marked the end of a much longer wait. Returning to Tamil cinema after 12 years, she said the affection from Tamil audiences had stayed with her even while she was away. Suriya was her first reason for accepting this film: earlier opportunities to work together had slipped away, and their first collaboration had finally arrived through Jithu. In her speech about the comeback, she described the pairing as a long-held wish fulfilled.

Naslen had a different first to celebrate. Scene is his Tamil debut, and he said the welcome he received before audiences had even seen the film moved him. His account of working with Suriya was especially revealing: after shoots running from 6 pm to 6 am, the younger actors would be exhausted, while Suriya could turn up at the dubbing studio at 9 am looking fresh. He also remembered the food Suriya brought for the team. Asked about facing him as an antagonist, Naslen admitted to being intimidated by an actor he admired so much, then mischievously maintained that his own character was innocent. Cinema Express’s account notes that this defence drew a laugh from Jyotika.

Jithu had his own example of Suriya’s preparation. The director recalled changing four pages of dialogue and handing them over only after the actor had arrived ready to shoot. What Jithu expected to take a long time was delivered with an ease that made it seem as though Suriya had written the lines himself. He also kept his response to the film’s many online theories simple: the team had released three teasers and a trailer, and those were the material audiences should trust. His launch speech ended with a joke about never having viewed Naslen as a romantic hero in the first place.

The music reunites Jithu and Sushin after Romancham and Aavesham, with Scene marking their Tamil debut. Aathi Iva Yarraa and Aeroplane had already introduced listeners to the soundtrack before the Chennai launch. Sushin spoke warmly about working with Suriya, while Raj Priyan remembered meeting the star as a boy during the filming of Vel in Devakottai. Now he has an acting role and opportunities to write lyrics and sing for Sushin. Dravid Selvam recalled watching a Suriya first-day show from the theatre steps when no seat was available. Anandraj supplied one small character reveal amid the secrecy: he plays Suriya’s father. These recollections, recorded in the detailed event report, gave the younger members of the team their place in the evening too.

There was a story behind one of the live performances as well. Singer Vijaynarain subsequently said his voice had almost disappeared before the launch. Though offered the option of lip-syncing, he chose to sing live, acknowledging the rough edges while describing the experience as special. His own account captures the effort behind getting a song onto that stage.

Karthi was delighted by the prospect of seeing his brother in Jithu’s dark-comedy world, particularly the playful use of the familiar Singam dialogue. He also brought the teasing expected of a younger brother, joking that Suriya and Jyotika’s affection during their recent vow-renewal celebration had made life difficult for the other husbands. His speech moved easily between pride in the actor and affection for the couple.

Suriya’s own words about Jyotika were more tender. He credited her with guiding him through life and praised her as a mother, friend and partner. Daily Thanthi’s report describes her responding from the audience with blown kisses as he spoke. Between the jokes and the film talk, it was a particularly warm exchange.

He also paused to remember Deva, who died in October and composed the music for his debut, Nerukku Ner. Suriya spoke of how Aval Varuvala had accompanied him through his career and thanked the composer for giving that journey its beginning. An evening introducing a new soundtrack made room for the music that first introduced him.

Suriya’s speech is available below, with the complete Chennai launch also on 2D Entertainment’s channel.

The trailer unveiled that evening gives the film’s crime-comedy premise a clearer shape. Inbaraj, played by Suriya, is called out of retirement to investigate a murder, with Naslen’s Eeswaran positioned as his adversary. Nazriya’s character gets action of her own, and the closing Singam callback puts a comic spin on familiar territory. It builds on the unconventional investigation team Jithu had previously described, while keeping the full workings of the case under wraps.

Suriya also thanked Dhanush for keeping his film away from the Diwali slot. After moving Om away from an October clash with Jailer 2, Dhanush had ruled out Diwali because Scene was already scheduled there. Om is now due on November 20.

Produced by Suriya and Jyotika through Zhagaram Studios and 2D Entertainment, Scene brings together Jithu’s direction, Sushin’s music, Vineeth Augustian’s cinematography, Ajmal Sabu’s editing and Tamil dialogues by Dravid Selvam. The film opens in cinemas on November 6.