Shanthnu Bhagyaraj seems to have moved on from the mixed response he received for acting in R Parthiepan’s Koditta Idangalai Nirappuga . He admits he stepped into the project without knowing what was really in store for him. “I’m just happy that the film managed to bring me into the limelight again. There were people who said I shouldn’t have done such a film. But there were others who said it was a good thing because they felt it it was another launch pad. But overall, they noticed me as an actor.”
How seriously does he take criticism? He clarifies whether I’m asking about “legitimate” reviewers (ie from traditional media). “You can’t consider social media because even our Superstar is not spared from scrutiny!” he says. Shanthnu recalls an instance when he took an online reviewer very seriously after he criticised his performance in Aayiram Vilakku. “He said I was too fat! He is a person who talks completely from the public’s point of view. Someone from the press would have a more dignified approach. I asked him what he expected from me as an actor and he told me about the things that people spoke of me inside the theatre. This was actually a great learning experience for me.”
He believes things will change for the better after Mupparimanam , that releases today. This was a script that was in the making for seven years, and it was Vetrimaaran who encouraged his friend Adhirooban (the director) to take it up.
“Today, everyone wants all sorts of things packaged into one movie. Producers tell me that the ‘in thing’ is horror comedies. But, such films don’t have a long shelf life. The only thing that stays with us is a film that we can relate to personally. Mupparimanam will be one such.”
This is a film that Shanthnu thinks will break his image of a chocolate boy. The second half of the film deals with a complete change of character, who, because of circumstances, sheds all the innocence. There’s a change in mannerisms and even the voice becomes deep. “For this, I consulted Bose Venkat and Subbu Panchu Arunachalam, who suggested I refrain from food or drink two hours before I hit bed. Your voice tends to be deeper early in the morning. So, I would wake up at 5 am, shower, avoid brushing my teeth and not speak to anyone until I got to the studio to dub. I repeated this process for eight to 10 days.”
Shanthnu, who has usually gone with the one-release-per-year rule, insists he will not jump into projects in haste like he did early on.
“Because of a few mistakes I made in the past, I was not getting the right type of projects. I don’t want to jeopardise my career all over again.”
The last three years were dedicated to a lot of introspection, he says. “I didn’t take up acting as a hobby. I came with a genuine aspiration of becoming an actor and sacrificed a lot for it. If I don’t end up getting any scripts, I will try my hand at being a character artiste. If that doesn’t work, I will try direction or dance choreography. If that fails, I’ll build a studio for films and rent it out, because cinema is the only thing I know.”
