“The FBI is after you. Run away as soon as you can,” a friend texted Ramesh Kanna a few days ago.

The actor had no idea how to react to that — he hadn’t yet caught up on #Pray_For_Naesamani which was trending on social media.

Ramesh played Krishnamurthy, the character who dropped the now-famous suthiyal on Contractor Neasamani’s (Vadivelu) head in the 2001 Tamil film Friends.

Eighteen years later, he has gotten famous for that role thanks to Twitterati who dissected the comedy sequence to shreds. He shares his excitement in a quick chat.

How have the last few days been?

Don’t ask me... I had my lunch only in the evening! All that I have been doing is attending phone calls and giving bytes to television channels. It has been that crazy.

How do you see this new-found popularity, thanks to ‘Neasamani’ trending on Twitter?

I think this is amazing because we’re talking about a Tamil film that released way back... 18 years ago! I owe this new popularity to the healthy brand of humour in the film, to Siddique (director), and, of course, to all those numerous meme-makers out there.

Take us back to the year 2000 when the offer of Friends came your way.

It’s fresh in my memory. The makers wanted me to play the role that Sreenivasan played in the Malayalam original; I had just finished Unnidathil Ennai Kuduthen and Padayappa at that point of time.

Actors Suriya, Vijay and Ramesh Kanna in a still from the film ‘Friends’. All three were at the spot when Kanna’s character Krishnamurthy dropped the hammer on ‘Contractor Naesamani’, played by actor Vadivelu   | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

They wanted a director-actor to play the role, and that’s how I came in to the picture. We shot in Kushaldas Garden and if you see the suthiyal sequence closely, Vadivelu and I score over both Vijay and Suriya, who are now leading heroes.

We had a ball shooting Friends because all of us had no ego, no differences of opinion... all we wanted to do was give the audience a fun film.

Have you had a chance to speak to Mr Neasamani (Vadivelu) after #Pray_For_Naesamani?

I have not yet got a chance. He is away in Madurai, but I did speak with director Siddique.

And?

I have pestered him to do a Friends 2. We will try to rope in Vijay, Suriya and Vadivelu for the sequel as well.

What’s your take on comedy in today’s cinema?

Earlier, there used to be equal importance to action, songs and comedy, but that has come down drastically now. I feel that it’s only comedy sequences that will stand the test of time, and ‘Neasamani’ trending is proof of that.