Veteran actor Ramesh Khanna is best known for playing character roles and has appeared in several big Tamil films over the years. Among his most memorable film appearances, the 2001 blockbuster family entertainer, Friends, starring 'Thalapathy' Vijay and Suriya in the lead roles, continues to be celebrated by fans to date for its comedy sequences, which were spearheaded by 'Vaigai Puyal' Vadivelu. In that light, Ramesh Khanna spoke about his experiences shooting with the cast and director Siddique, while also explaining how Vijay and Suriya would burst out laughing while filming the iconic clock breaking scene in Friends.
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Regarding how he landed the role of Krishnamoorthy in Friends, Ramesh Khanna said, "That film was first made in Malayalam. Vijay played Jayaram's role, Mukesh's character was portrayed by Suriya and I appeared in the role of Sreenivasan. He (Sreenivasan) is a big writer, director and actor. At the time, Siddique sir was looking for someone like him and he saw that I fit in those credentials and cast me in the film. Saritha madam only called and spoke to me about this character and I instantly agreed to come on board. Back then, Suriya did not have a big market. Friends was made based on Vijay. Both Suriya and I had an equal market back then. Suriya used to be with me round the clock at the time."
Speaking about the impact of being a part of Friends, Ramesh Khanna said, "To date, Friends is saving me. Recently, I did an ad for GRC Jewellers along with Delhi Ganesh and many other artistes. During the shooting, they cast North Indian children since they look fair. At the time, a woman called her child and told him to say my name out loud. I told them, 'Both of you don't know Tamil and you're telling him son to say my name'. She asserted saying he will say my name. And, that's when the little boy said, 'Krishnamoorthy'. Such was the impact of the character in the mind of a North Indian child."
Explaining the chemistry with Vadivelu, Vijay, and Suriya in the hilarious clock scene, Ramesh Khanna recalled his experiences from the shooting and said, "There are many memories from Friends. For example, the scene where the clock slips from our hands and gets shattered, Suriya and Vijay would begin laughing during the shot. We wouldn't be able to do anything then. The clock would need to be fixed then once again for the shot and it would take around about 20 minutes since it's an antique piece. This happened thrice. Even if you watch the film, both of them will be seen looking away (from the camera) and laughing."
Watch Ramesh Khanna's interview below:
