Shooting for Pa Ranjith’s upcoming Tamil sports drama Salpetta (2021) has been wrapped up, its makers have revealed in a statement. The team also released a working still featuring Ranjith, cinematographer Murali and Arya during a scene.
Salpetta is a story set in North Chennai, a setting that Ranjith had explored previously in his film Madras (2014), starring Karthi. This film will shine the spotlight on boxing clubs in the region. Arya plays a boxer from a backward community.
Over the past 12 months, Arya has worked out extensively to build a ripped body for his character in Salpetta. Not long ago, he had teased fans with his workout routine for the project in a Twitter post. He made doing 150kg squat look like a cakewalk.
Earlier there was a rumour that the project could be the Tamil remake of Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz (2018), also the story of a boxer from a backward community. But Ranjith quashed it by clarifying that Salpetta is an original story.
According to the industry grapevine, Ranjith had originally planned this film with Suriya. For reasons unknown, the plan did not materialize and Ranjith went ahead and roped in Arya, who has set great standards with his fitness in the industry.
Arya was last seen on screen in Magamuni (2019), in which he played dual roles. The film, directed by Santhakumar, saw Arya play a hitman as well as a pious teacher practising brahmacharya. Santhakumar returned to direction after eight years with Magamuni, which also featured Mahima Nambiar and Induja in crucial roles.
Arya is currently awaiting the release of the children’s film Teddy (2020), which also stars his wife Sayyeshaa. Teddy, which is centred on a talking teddy bear and its relationship with a police officer, has been directed by Sakthi Soundarajan.