When a young Kumaresan bagged a chance to star in a Bharatiraja film, way back in 1991, he was ecstatic. There was only one catch: he had to change his name.
“Bharathiraja has this habit of giving new names to his actors. He wanted to do the same for me too,” recalls Napoleon, “He asked me to make a list of 25 names that I like.”
A day later, Kumaresan took with him a piece of paper with 25 names starting with the letter ‘R’. “Bharatiraja’s liking for the letter ‘R’ is well known in the film industry, so I searched and found some unique names for myself.”
The filmmaker hated the list. He announced that Kumaresan would henceforth be named Napoleon. “I didn’t know what to make of it. I was Hindu and this was a Christian-sounding name, so I didn’t know if my family would accept it. Also, Napoleon was the name of a liquor brand and I thought my friends would ridicule me,” he laughs.
They did. They teased him with that name, and Kumaresan didn’t know how to manage. “Bharatiraja thinks I’m Hollywood material and so he has kept this name for me,” he said, in a bid to convince his friends.
About 25 years and a hundred films later, that has come true. Napoleon has landed a role in Hollywood: in upcoming supernatural thriller Devil’s Night: Dawn of the Nain Rouge, directed by Sam Logan Khaleghi.
“I’ve lived in Nashville (US) for the last few years,” he says, “A friend there, Tel K Ganesan, was producing a Hollywood film and wanted me to be part of it. I was hesitant initially since I’m not too comfortable with English but they convinced me that I could pull it off.”
He plays a museum curator in the film and language was the biggest challenge. “Since the film was done using live sound, it was a little difficult. But I’m confident now — and already in talks for another Hollywood film with the same unit,” he reveals.
This is a different Napoleon, very different from the young Kumaresan who hailed from a village near Tiruchi and subsequently went on to have a lengthy innings in South Indian cinema and politics. For him, the biggest decision in the last few years has been shifting base to the US. “I had to do it for my elder son, Dhanush, who has muscular dystrophy,” he mulls. “The facilities there make it more comfortable for him to lead life. And, what use is all this fame for me if I cannot be with him? Yes, I still yearn for life in Tamil Nadu but I’m happy since my son is in a better place.”
Napoleon still has some business interests in Chennai — and that brings him back to the city every year — but it’s cinema that he still loves the most. He’s doing films in all South Indian languages currently, and is still looking at doing character roles. “The fact that people still approach me with interesting roles makes me very happy. I hope that this Hollywood film will open more doors for me.”
