Tamil cinema has been reminding its fans that August is Romance Awareness Month. Every Friday of the month has seen on-screen romance in a distinct shade. If it was the bloody, revenge-fuelled tryst in DC, the Independence Day week saw Suriya in an age-gap romance in Vishwanath & Sons. The third week saw many little rom-coms like Pyaar Prema Kalyanam and Modha Rathiri. And now, this coming week, two romance dramas are set to hit the screens: HiOnce More.
Debutant director Vignesh Srikanth’s Once More promises to celebrate love in its most tender, most lyrical form. The film starring Arjun Das, Aditi Shankar and Sona Olickal has generated a lot of buzz online over the last two years, especially thanks to composer Hesham Abdul Wahab’s stirring songs.
The musical romance drama has had a long journey since its inception, while its lead star Arjun has had a longer journey with director Srikanth; the latter worked as an assistant director in Bejoy Nambiar’s Por, which starred Arjun. “Even before that, he had narrated a line to me. Then, after Por, when we took a two-month break, he narrated the script.” Srikanth made several popular short films before finding his feature film break. “I had watched a lot of those short films, and I understood that he knows what he wants very clearly. Also, everyone in the short film circle had only good things to say about Srikanth. So when I heard the narration, it was a beautiful story with a lot of emotions and drama, and it was a clean musical love story.”
Aditi, on the other hand, had a lot of faith, since Yuvaraj Ganesan of Million Dollar Studios was backing the project. “He has a knack for picking scripts like Good NightLover. Then, during the narration, I could relate to many things in the script.” What she didn’t expect, however, was to see Srikanth use a playlist of popular songs as references during the narration. “Every scene will have a reference from the playlist, which consists of songs in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam. So sometimes, even when we are shooting those scenes, those songs would be playing in the background to bring us into that mood. I really liked that,” she says.
The internet community knows Srikanth as a Mani Ratnam fanatic, and given that his guru Bejoy also hails from Mani Ratnam’s school of cinema, one can expect some inadvertent influences in the film, says Arjun. “I saw two Mani sir fans when I was working in Por. So there will be glimpses of Mani Ratnam in Once More, because many of his references were from that school of cinema.” What AR Rahman’s soundtrack did to several Mani Ratnam films is what composer Hesham’s songs attempt to do in Once More. “Hesham is the soul of the film. He has elevated every scene with his scores, and I am sure the songs will play in your mind after you exit the theatre,” says Arjun.
Post his scene-stealing turns in films such as Kaithi and Master, Arjun has solidified his position as a sought-after actor — one who could pull off a crazy dual role in a big-star film likeGood Bad Ugly, while also losing himself in characters in mid-budget flicks like Andhaghaaram, Aneethi, Bomb, Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa, and Con City. “It’s not a conscious decision. There were times when I was waiting for a good script, and now that the scripts are coming, I want to pick the movies that I really have my heart in.” This is a rather confident approach at a time when most heroes focus on scaling up. “Numbers will change eventually, but that is not my target. I want to be part of good stories and work with good teams. I am happy when we promote the movie correctly, reach the audiences, make them curious, and when they are happy with my performance.”
In Once More, her fifth feature film, Aditi plays Anjali, whom she describes as beautiful and happy. “She doesn’t think before she speaks and confesses her feelings openly. She is someone who will put you on the spot and ask you out on a date.” The actor says the director’s clarity about her role made the process easier. “The only thing we would discuss was the meter of the performance.” This was especially important since Aditi’s method of performance is to simply surrender to the vision. “I just try to keep myself open and my mind very free. My focus is usually on imbibing whatever my director is explaining.” Did she seek references for the role? “No, because I would want it to be my version of the character. I try to avoid comments comparing my performance to someone else’s.”
Aditi is also famous for her singing — she last sang ‘Aaradi Kaathirukku’ in Thaai Kizhavi — and her vocal training seems to come in handy while acting. “Singing is also acting because you have to express every word that comes out of your mouth. So my vocal training did make acting very easy; it was just like singing, but I was supposed to speak the lines a certain way.”
Speaking of vocals, Arjun Das’ unmistakable bass continues to make hearts flutter. That said, having such a distinct feature can come with its own challenges. “After Master, there was feedback that there was no clarity in certain words that I said, especially when heard in a theatre. So after that, I made a conscious point to take some time in the dubbing studio.” Arjun needs to be conscious of the time of day he is dubbing for his roles. “Because sometimes the bass will be out of the roof. Which is why I can’t dub early in the morning. Starting from Bomb, Con City and Once More, I have consciously made it a point to dub in the right tone. I try my best, but this is the voice I have.”
Up next, Arjun has a family entertainer with director Ranjit Jeyakodi, a psychological thriller directed by Madhumita Sundararaman, Balaji Mohan’s Netflix series #Love, and Super Hero, directed by debutant Vignesh Venugopal. Interestingly, Farhan Akhtar’s Don 3 would have been on that list had it not been put on hold. “I had meetings with Farhan sir, but it is on hold for now. But yes, I am very fortunate and blessed to have been considered for it. I am a huge admirer of Farhan sir’s work, so sitting with him at his office and discussing his scripts was something huge. If it happens, it happens; but I definitely look forward to collaborating with him.” Aditi, meanwhile, has a thriller directed by filmmaker Arivazhagan and another project backed by 96 producer S Nanthagopal.
As we sign off, I ask them for one moment in their lives they would love to relive ‘once more,’ and the actors, knowing each other’s answers, keep it simple and sweet. “Yours (Arjun) is when your younger sister was born,” says Aditi. “And yours (Aditi) is when amma permitted both the sisters to play in the rain, or the audio launch of your debut film.”
Once More releases in theatres on August 28
Published - August 22, 2026 02:37 pm IST