Why Nayanthara Said Playing This Role In Suriya’s Ghajini Was The ‘Worst Decision’ Of Her Life

Actress Nayanthara is hailed as the female superstar of the South, who had a solid screen presence even in her big Bollywood debut, Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan. One of her interviews from 2019 is now going viral, where she said that she regrets starring in Suriya’s 2005 hit film Ghajini. Nayanthara had said, “In hindsight, I must confess that playing the role in Ghajini was the worst decision of my life. My role did not turn out the way it was told to me and I was badly photographed. But I cannot complain because I consider it all a learning experience.” Directed by AR Murugadoss, the action thriller revolves around Sanjay Ramaswamy (Suriya), a formerly wealthy businessman who suffers from anterograde amnesia. His brief memory loss was caused by a head injury he sustained while trying to save his fiancée and model Kalpana (Asin) from being murdered by a gangster named Lakshman (Pradeep Rawat).

Ghajini was a huge success at the box office and was particularly praised for the performances of Suriya and Asin. The film was remade in Hindi in 2008 with Jiah Khan taking on Nayanthara’s role. The Hindi remake of the film, starring Aamir Khan in the lead role was the first film to cross the Rs 100 crore mark in India.

When AR Muragadoss was asked about Nayanthara’s displeasure over the actress’ character arc in Ghajini, the director had replied, “Just because I like or dislike a character or a person, I cannot reduce or expand a role. Sometimes we have given good roles to the actors we don’t particularly like and the favourites may have got small roles. It is not in our hands.”

Fifteen years after the release of Ghajini, Nayanthara and AR Murugadoss reunited in Darbar. The action thriller also stars Rajinikanth, Suniel Shetty and Nivetha Thomas. Darbar became the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2020.

Nayanthara is popular in the South film industry for her acting skills. She made her debut with Manassinakkare in 2003, which was a commercial hit. Later, she became one of the leading actresses in women-oriented films with films like Anaamika, Maya, Airaa and Netrikann.

Nayanthara and her husband, director Vignesh Shivan fell in love on the sets of the film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in 2015 and got married in June 2022. Shah Rukh Khan and Rajinikanth were among the few guests who attended the lavish ceremony in Mahabalipuram.