Sixty. Does it seem like a milestone that forces you to look back at the journey you’ve taken?
Well, it’s definitely no surprise that I am turning 60. The fact that I’ve lived this long is not really an achievement. Time passes, we age… it’s natural. This is why it annoys me when a person watches a movie and tells me that it was ‘time pass’. Would time not have passed if he hadn’t watched the film? But yes, I do throw glances at what I’ve done; I take stock of my inventory, so to speak. I think I’ve managed to retain my honesty, and while I don’t agree that it’s a great policy as the adage goes, I believe that it’s a luxury that only few people can afford.
On your birthday, you encouraged ’re encouraging your fan club to clean a lake in Taramani in Chennai.
There are civic issues that bother me. My road (Eldam’s Road), for example, has been laid and relaid over and over again. As a boy who looked out of the window at this road, I can, with confidence, tell you that the road has ascended several feet. Why is the road not scraped before a new one is laid? I’m talking about these issues, as Swachh Bharat seems to be quite the trend now.
Some people believe that for change to occur, the people who seek it must participate in governance. With your fan base,politics must seem an interesting prospect.
Would I get into politics? I’ll just say what I tell people when they ask me this. Pray that everyday citizens like me aren’t pushed to that corner. I’m happy doing my bit in the background with my supporters. We have been doing useful work for 30 years.
In fact, one of the most memorable photographs of my life was one in which a member of my ‘narpani iyakkam’ stood waist-deep in a sink hole to clean drainage. He did that, expecting nothing in return.
Is it scary that there are admirers who’re willing to do anything?
Yes. That’s why I changed the fan club to a ‘narpani iyakkam’. In fact, when the late MGR asked me if I was interested in politics, I asked him instead for suggestions on how to make my group apolitical.
Besides writing film stories, what else do you write?
I write the occasional poem. I think my dabbling in poetry makes me better at screenplays. Poetry teaches the value of condensing, the importance of talking in a few words. So, yes, I do write poetry even though I’m asked not to publish them.
Too controversial?
I wrote one ten years back about the onset of gay marriages. So, you can imagine.
Despite your confessed reluctance to act, you chose to do so.
People keep saying Balachander discovered me. I differ. He invented me. When a stalwart like him suggests that I act in films, who am I to refuse?
What do you make of the kind of films you’re working on today?
Well, it’s clear that I’m scared and I’m playing the market. I’m not as free as an art filmmaker and that’s fine because I want to take people towards that destination eventually. The journey is more important, and when I die, I want to do so knowing that I’ve led some people forward. That said, I’d really like to make a film like Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life”. Before all that, let me make the usual films without the fear of them being banned.
So, you believe that the regression is caused mainly by untrained filmmakers?
Sure. When I met the late director Balu Mahendra, I was encouraged by his education at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. I asked him if I should join too, and he said I should. However, I learned then that high school dropouts like myself would not be allowed to train there. But at least, during the days that I stepped into films, we had the excuse of not having any training centres in filmmaking. Today, there’s just no excuse.
You are an atheist, are you not?
Let me just say I can exist without god; I cannot exist without people. The line was a compromise in a way. I believe that the true saints are those working in places like CERN. A person like Peter Higgs should probably be canonised by the Vatican. Those are the saints I worship.
What’s your motivation for continuing to make and act in films?
It’s a versatile medium, is it not? I really appreciate it. To be honest, I think it’s been 25 years since I last worked. Films just don’t feel like work any more. They remind me of the time I used to build pyramids with playing cards when I was a child. It’s a sense of personal achievement and it's fulfilling.
