He is one of the most versatile contemporary actors who has set high standards for himself and for drama on screen altogether beyond language barriers.
He has been recognized as a great actor for all times long back with some of his best performances in some of the south Indian movies like Iddaru (for which he got the best supporting actor national award), Antahpuram, Khadgam to name a few. And the recent in this trend is his National award winning Kanchivaram. He has directly been identified as a diverse candidate for any type of character with his intro direct Bollywood flick Wanted.
He will be remembered as one of the greatest actors the silver screen has ever produced. Excerpts from one of his latest interviews after the announcement of his national award.
(thanks to Frontline!)
What does this national award mean to you ? Please tell us about the kanchivaram experience, and your journey through Tamil cinema and Indian Cinema ?
In the context of our country, the national award for any actor or film-maker, is a very important recognition in his life’s journey, which will probably be a milestone. For some it may be the goal, but for me it is a moment in the journey where you are recognized for your work. It turns into a milestone and you continue your journey. Coming to my journey in Tamil Cinema and Indian Cinema, as an actor or now as a producer, for me it so happens that I am in cinema because it is basically the journey of my life. As you understand, we dont come from a culture where we are brought up with cinema as a profession in mind. Probably this may happen in the next generation. Or a few of the present generation whose parents are in cinema are being nurtured from a young age.
But in most cases it a search for an identity to express yourself. There is no known history of anybody having been in the field of arts in my family. For me it is more like having stumbled into the profession. Now probably you share yourself as you gather momentum, you turn into whatever you are. And in a matter of 10 to 15 years, you look like a veteran in the Cinema.
You have done very serious roles and at the same time, you seem to fit in chirpy roles too…
It is as simple as that. I am an actor and i am expected to be an actor. I am requested to be an actor and i am paid to be an actor. I am committed to being an actor. So I just do the same – in intensity or perception or the time spent. The time i spent on Kanchivaram is as much as the time spent on Wanted or or Gilli. It just so happens that in the context of India that we need to balance between the artistic and commercial needs. Around 99 percent of the times we only entertain, to make a living out of it. There i take upon myself a social responsibility, within me. My conscience says ” Don’t do films that are crass or that cross the border into obscenity in my perception, so that I do not earn out of it”. But if it is harmless entertainment, i am fine with it. At the same time, an actor is not a chooser but a beggar, because he is not cinema. An actor can never be cinema. An actor can be one of the major colors of a painting.
Is cinema a mere mass entertainer or an instrument of social change ? Is it not difficult to strike a balance between the two?
How do you see painting? How do you see writing? How do you see sculptures? Everything is an art form. Over these years, you document the person behind the works when you talk about great writers, sculptors or film makers. Cinema as a medium has come from outside. We have taken it as it is a very powerful tool. But here again, 90 percent of the time we are trying to use this medium for doing the same larger-than-life characters. It has to transcend the present stage of catering to the taste of the audience and go to its full form and become a medium of expression. It is a long process. Till then you have to balance and continue to work.
History has shown that cinema, which is a mass based performing art, cannot remain unaffected by the socio-poilitical atmosphere prevailing in the world. would you like to comment ?
It has to reflect, it has to document, it has to dissect, it has to evaluate, it has to discuss and it has to express. But again, it will find its purest, strongest expression only when this medium gets in to the hands of responsible, sensitive and aggressive individuals who are guided by conscience. So, it depends on how many of us, individuals of our country become morally responsible and would like to master this tool and use it this way.
