Sathyaraj Says He Felt His ‘Chennai Express’ Role Wasn't Great; Did it for SRK

Sathyaraj shot to fame as Katappa in the Prabhas-starrer 'Baahubali' films.

Sathyaraj and Shah Rukh Khan in stills from Chennai Express.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Actor Sathyaraj, who played the role of Meenalochni’s (Deepika Padukone) father Durgeshwara in Chennai Express, revealed that he didn’t think his role was a great one but accepted it because he ‘likes Shah Rukh Khan very much’.

Sathyaraj told ETimes, “When the makers approached me for Chennai Express, I heard the story and I felt that it was not that great a role for me. I conveyed this to the director (Rohit Shetty) and also to Shah Rukh Khan, but I eventually did the film, because I like Shah Rukh very much."

"I like Shah Rukh Khan's acting a lot. His films, like DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) and several others, did extremely well.”

Sathyaraj to ETimes

The actor had earlier said, in an interview with Hindustan Times, that he has received offers from Bollywood after Chennai Express but he couldn’t accept the roles.

“I do get Hindi offers. I was offered a Tiger Shroff film recently, which required me to spend 40 days in London. My family situation is such that I can’t go abroad for many days. Then there was a film with Vidya Balan, but on the same dates as the one required by Veetla Vishesham. The problem is that I speak fluently only in my mother tongue, even English I barely manage. I can speak other languages if I get a prompt,” Sathyaraj said.

While Sathyaraj shot to fame for his role as Katappa in the Baahubali films, the Rohit Shetty-directorial Chennai Express was also a box office success. The actor will next be seen in the Tamil remake of the 2018 release Badhaai Ho.