In a ‘title’ role

A woman of many parts, Suhasini Maniratnam recently became the Honorary Consul of Luxembourg, writes Chitra Mahesh.

March 26, 2015 08:08 pm | Updated April 02, 2015 02:48 am IST

Suhasini Maniratnam. Photo: The Hindu archives

Suhasini Maniratnam. Photo: The Hindu archives

In life, some thrive on multitasking and reinventing themselves. Suhasini Maniratnam is one such person, as her plate is always full - of tasks that define and determine who she has evolved into.

Her newest role is that of Honorary Consul of Luxembourg. She has taken it up as enthusiastically as she does her films or her NGO, Naam Foundation, or the 1980s group of cine personalities - the list is endless!

“It came about very strangely,” she remarks. “Usually they ask someone living there to suggest names of persons who could fulfil this role. And after several names were tossed about, I was chosen as others such as Mallika Srinivasan had other preoccupations. Although this is quite a deviation for me, it is an honour as I feel people from the film fraternity are usually not acknowledged as diplomats. Normally, such assignments are given to industrialists or business houses. So I see this as a kind of recognition of the film industry.”

This recognition is important, she feels, “because, while the Government gets much out of the industry, the same does not happen in reverse. Instead films are taxed heavily. I feel sorry for producers, considering how the films run only for a few days. Recently, a popular theatre changed a film during the interval as there were not many takers. A far cry from those days, when movies would run for 100 days or 25 weeks. In fact my first film ran for about 400 days. It all depends on hype, marketing and publicity, which are actually more expensive than the actual film. It is a world ruled by media and everything depends on how you market it.”

Regarding her latest role, she says her work would entail representing the country in south India.

“I am responsible for their citizens living here. This includes deaths. If someone passes away, I will be the one to close the coffin and lock it. It is a small country and there are not too many of their citizens living here. Regarding visas, these still have to be obtained from Delhi as I don’t deal with that area. At best, I can give a letter of recommendation.”

Another endeavour of Suhasini is her event company, Talent South. “In the past 10 years, I have been putting things together for so many people that I thought it would make sense to formalise it. I don’t really like event managing –I don’t even manage my house. I do things normal event managers cannot do, thanks to my years in the film industry.

“It has given me access to people such as Chetan Bhagat, Shekhar Kapoor, Kiran Mazumdar or N. Ram - which makes it my strength and helpful in getting things done.”

Her list of special events includes a film festival for the Crafts Council and the Gollapudi Awards. “I like doing events that strike a chord in others. It has to be meaningful.”

Next on the agenda is an International Film Festival in Malaysia with the involvement of the Malaysian Government, an NGO and Astro TV. On the cards is also an actors’ workshop, with four top actors being the mentors.

On how ‘Antaram’ and her forays into the dance world came about, she says, “Quite by chance. Gopika (Varma) called me and I thought she wanted me to direct it. I was quite unprepared to be one of the performers. I feel such endeavours need a narrative.

I have two dancers in the family — my aunt Nalini and Vani (Ganapathy), who is still performing. And she discusses her presentations with me. For instance, when she did ‘Pancha Kanya’ long ago, we shot portions of it. It was really appreciated. After that so many wanted my assistance.

“Regarding ‘Antaram,’ I tentatively agreed. But I couldn’t really decide as I was leaving for Milan. Gopika said that the idea was to present three dance forms, with three dancers, as it was about three legendary women from South India. She wanted me to be the fourth dimension, covering Karnataka. Later, Krithika (Subrahmanian) entered the picture. I know her as a friend and an architect not a dancer. But I like her organisational skills and she was willing to experiment. She likes doing things larger than life. If one sees the flute, the singer, she sees the symphony. One needs to really think big.”

Next time, Suhasini says, she would like to do three acts interspersed with dances and would like to work with different dancers – such as Shobana who is also an actor.

“I’m thinking of doing, for example, the short stories of Sujatha – the veteran actor Lakshmi has been approached for one story. Then another story will have Prakash Raj, Shobana and me. Or maybe Naseeruddin Shah, if that works out. In the meantime, ‘Antaram’ is still alive and we have several more shows to do.”

Suhasini also has three films this year. “Most people don’t even know that I have another side to me. They only know me as an actor. But I keep doing different kinds of things.

“Illaiyaraaja wants me to be part of every show he does as a presenter. Whether it is in Malaysia or Australia... One reason is that I am able to converse with the singers and the audience so that a rapport is easily established.”

So the journey continues. “In the future, say ten years from now, I do hope I don’t have too many responsibilities. I ought to retire from acting. But right now I’m amazed that the President of India wants to see the film, ‘Ramanujan’.”

And politics? “No. My son, Nandan, wants to get into politics and he tells me, ‘I don’t want you to be there too. Don’t steal my thunder,’ And I am being a sacrificial mother,” she laughs and signs off.

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