From stage to reel

The chocolate boy of theatre takes steady steps towards cinema

April 30, 2011 06:01 pm | Updated 06:01 pm IST

Karthik Kumar is not new to Telugu people, theatre lovers have seen him perform with his group Evam in Hyderabad for the past few years. The simple, cool and good looking actor's Tamil film Veppam is being dubbed and released here as Sega soon. He becoming an entrepreneur is an offshoot of his passion for acting; right from the time he was in school to his work in the theatre it is something he always enjoyed doing and the biggest bonus is bringing people back to theatre. Armed with an engineering and an MBA degree, Karthik worked for a couple of years in Real images to pay off his education loans. The actor says money is an inevitable by-product of the business but what's more important to him, is what one is doing to make money.

How would he compare theatre and cinema? “In theatre one performs for an audience, in a cinema the focus is on to please the director. I've learnt to accept both the mediums. The gaps between shots don't frustrate me. I'm ready the moment the director says ‘action!” Karthik had plays that have been huge hits but there have been dull moments as well, but the irony is the effort he's put in is the same. He remarks, “every play is special, and flops much more because every time one loses there is so much to learn.” He admits to theatre making him disciplined and patient as a human being.. Lot of people have been asking Karthik that if he gains equal popularity in cinema one day, will he give up theatre. The answer is a stern no. “In cinema, fame comes first but in theatre it is the last. Many actors worry, get scared about their future in cinema but here an actor is a lot more secure. Theatre is lot more democratic, anyone can get in directly and be accepted by the people.”

On Hyderabad, Karthik says it's his favourite city, “It has the best in combination of Bangalore and Chennai. Evam entered Hyderabad five years back and if I were to settle in any place, it would be here. Telugu and Urdu are the sweetest languages.”

Karthik also makes an interesting observation: “Over the years Tamil and Malayalam cinema are becoming louder while Telugu is changing. Shekar Kammula and Krish Jagar have been doing some interesting cinema and some day I'd like to be a part of a straight Telugu film.” He's game to running around trees and thinks that if he doesn't believe it he would look fake on screen. He adds, “Raviteja is a fun actor, his work was believable in Vikramarkudu but if Irfan Khan or Naseeruddin Shah were to do the same role, it would be a tough.”

Finally on Sega (Veppam), Karthik says he is looking forward to people's reactions. “Director Anjana had made a believable action packed film. The aggression in the film comes from her back belt background, you would never expect that from a woman,” he signs off.

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