You’ve also now jumped into the horror genre withDhillukku Dhuddu.
It is a horror-coated romantic-comedy, where the horror isn’t just included as an after-thought. Like each of my earlier films as hero, this will also be a commercial entertainer.
Do you see any risk in your transformation from a comedian into a hero?
I have been in the industry for a long time now. The truth is, I got bored of playing the funny sidekick. I thought it would be unfair to expect the audience to accept something I’d become jaded with.
It is a calculated risk, but if you don’t take such risks, monotony sets in. Without really trying new things, I’d not know my creative limits. It is better to take such chances while my body is still willing.
Why are you unable to get more popular heroines? It was Ashna Zaveri inInimey Ippadithan, and now it’s Shanaya inDhillukku Dhuddu.
It’s not that I approached the big names and they refused. I wanted a fresh face. A Hansika or a Trisha would have seemed like the usual. I wanted to unearth an emerging talent.
Television opened the doors into cinema for actors like you and Sivakarthikeyan. Why aren’t we really seeing such shows any more?
I was lucky to have been spotted by Simbu, who cast me in Manmadhan . He took a leaf out of Balachander’s book, when he presented me with an opportunity and saw my talent taking wing. As for television, I think channels should have brought in more comedy shows to interest the youth.
You seem to be rather close to Simbu, and have appeared in cameos in his films.
It’s just a small way of reciprocating what he has done for me. I owe him everything, and the best way to thank him is to let my work do the talking.
Is it fair to say that comedy has taken a backseat today? The likes of Vadivelu and Vivekh don’t seem to command the same fan-following they once did.
I’ll just say that Tamil cinema’s talent pool has never run dry since the days of N. S. Krishnan. We have had so many legends, including Thangavelu, Nagesh, Thengai Srinivasan… In my view, Nagesh was the best of them all.
When one thinks of evergreen Tamil comedies, films likeKadhalikka Neramillai,Kasethan Kadavulada, andManal Kayirucome to mind. Do you think today’s comedies compare with them?
The likes of Chitralaya Gopu and Visu don’t come along every day. Please also keep in mind that our films need to cater to the taste of today’s generation. The youth want punchy one-liners, and that leaves no place for lengthy dialogues.
Spare a thought for today’s comedians. What they come up with could already have been popularised on social media. Thinking out of the box is the ‘in-thing’.
What about script writers specialising in comedy? Apart from Crazy Mohan, there don’t seem to be any other names.
There is humour in each of us. But that said, the industry could definitely do with some fresh names.
Take the combination of Govinda and David Dhawan, for instance, which rocked Bollywood in the 90s by making full-fledged comedies. Why don’t we have such a team?
Bollywood is a big industry, but such unadulterated comedies are risky to make in Tamil cinema, where there is still an audience for masala films. Times will change, of course, and there could well come a market for such films. Right now though, the staple diet is horror. Producers have accepted that the audience want that… so what’s the problem?
At a recent event, it was reported that you were mobbed by children who were your fans. Now that you’ve turned hero, do you expect to be mobbed by female fans too?
Let me just say that if the women support me, half the battle is won.
