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He may not be the most consistent actor, but there’s something desirable about Sibi Sathyaraj and his tenacious journey that makes you root for him. Perhaps that’s why you would find many comments under the trailer of his upcoming film Ten Hours wishing for the actor to get his due. Sibi, too, is impressively self-aware of where he stands.
“I will get my big break. I know it,” says a confident Sibi. Ten Hours , a crime thriller directed by debutant Ilayaraja Kaliyaperumal, tells a story that transpires over ten hours in a night.
Sibi plays a police officer named R Castro . “Overnight, he embarks on what turns out to be his career’s most complicated case, and the film travels with him as he encounters quite a few unexpected turns,” says Sibi. This is the actor’s fifth role as a cop, after Naaigal Jaakirathai , Jackson Durai , Walter and his Kavaludaari remake, Kabadadaari, in which his traffic constable character eventually becomes a cop.
Too much khaki on the same shoulders can get quite monotonous, but Sibi has somehow managed to make the roles his own. “Maybe it is because of the success of Naaigal Jaakirathai , directors think I am tailor-made for the role. Moreover, thanks to the preparations I did for that film — like the weapons training I underwent at a police academy in Adyar — I find it easier to get into the groove of a cop.
” Sibi Sathyaraj in a still from ‘Ten Hours’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement In today’s Tamil cinema, with bigger stars more or less settling for templates, an experienced actor like Sibi could dabble in some experiments, perhaps like his antagonistic turn in 2010’s Naanayam . “I have always been open to experimenting. I believe I started doing that right from 2007’s Lee .
But yes, I am on the course to do more experiments,” assures Sibi. 20 years ago, Sibi was busy working alongside his father, veteran actor Sathyaraj, in titles like Kovai Brothers and Vetrivel Sakthivel, but except for Jackson Durai , the two haven’t acted together since. In 2009, Sibi had told The Hindu , “Henceforth, we’ll team up only if the project is unique.
I don’t intend on riding piggyback on my dad.” He even went on to say that those films didn’t do him any good as much as they did his father. But then, given Sathyaraj’s pan-Indian break post- Baahubali , you wonder if the on-screen father-son equation is up for a renewal, say, in a genre they hadn’t attempted before.
But Sibi reasserts his sentiment. “I don’t want to be in his shadow. That’s why, after all those films, we took a break from working together.
Even when we reunited for Jackson Durai , it was only because it had such a unique concept.” The 2016 horror-comedy film featured Sathyaraj as a ghost. “That was one of the first Tamil films where the characters teased and toyed with the ghosts.
We have now reunited for Jackson Durai 2 , in which he is playing a villain opposite me.” Sibi Sathyaraj in a still from ‘Ten Hours’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement When Indian cinema underwent its OTT boom, audiences and critics hoped it would lead to more niche, smaller attempts and a possible upsurge of the long-format — and more spaces that actors like Sibi, who started in the 2000s, could use to boost their game. Sibi accepts that this hasn’t happened.
“But there have been attempts like Suzhal and Inspector Rishi . So I am hopeful that more opportunities will open up and I will get my share of them.” What about multi-starrers? Even many of Sibi’s contemporaries like Jiiva, Bharath and Srikanth have welcomed sharing the screen with other stars.
“Of course, when even the likes of Ajith Kumar and Vijay don’t mind acting with other stars, why should I?” Sibi seems particularly grateful for the broadened landscape that streaming has offered. “We are now consuming content from around the world, and an actor like myself could now compete with those from other regional industries. It lends phenomenal reach for our content.
That excites me.” Of the recent titles from around the world, Netflix’s sensational limited series Adolescence seems to have left a strong impression on Sibi. And so you wonder: Is it possible to mount a similar creative endeavour in Tamil? “Of course.
If we can replicate that level of technical brilliance, I would say our version could go global as well. Imagine a series that explores how exposure to social media affects a boy from a rural town, someone who has never stepped foot in a city.” Speaking of desires, does Sibi carry that dream role that he has yet to play? “Not particularly.
The very allure of acting is to live many lives through our characters. I am excited by every character that comes my way,” he says. As we get to the end of our chat, I present an intriguing situation.
If Sibi gets to meet his 2005 self, what nugget of wisdom would he share with him? “I’d advise him to start his career in 2007, with Lee as his debut film. I don’t mean to demean the films I did before, but it was only during Lee that I could bring myself to look at my face on screen and accept it.” When prodded more, he shares how he made his debut when he was too young to understand the ropes of the trade.
“It was only during Lee that I learnt about myself and delved quite seriously into my craft,” he shares. So, what would he ask if he met his 2045 self? “I’d ask him how my career has shaped and how I should take my next steps. If his decisions turned out to be good, I’d thank him.
If not, I’d scold him (laughs) .” After Ten Hours , Sibi has Ranger and Jackson Durai 2 in the pipeline. “I am also in talks with director Ilayaraja Kaliyaperumal and the producers of Ten Hours for another project.
We are also planning on mounting a project under our own production banner,” says Sibi. Ten Hours releases in theatres on April 18 Published - April 16, 2025 04:36 pm IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tamil cinema / Indian cinema.
