Prasanna is no more that lanky fragile hero of Five Star . He has grown in stature both physically and professionally. “Yes. The physical aspect is because of my steadfast visits to the gym. Professionally, I had to. Otherwise, I will be no where. Thanks to Mysskin for helping me shed the chocolate boy image,” he says.
Prasanna is excited about joining director Susi Ganesan after 15 years for Thiruttu Payale 2, a sequel to the one that was released a decade ago. An erotic thriller, the film features Bobby Simha in the lead and Prasanna as the antagonist. Just like the first part, this film too has been shot overseas for the visual grandeur. “Susi appreciated my hard work and gave me a meaty role this time,” he says.
The film, which also features Amala Paul with Vivek and Robo Shankar in supporting roles, is expected to hit the screens in the first week of November.
For Prasanna, acting is the career of his choice. “I always wanted to be an actor and I did it against the wishes of my parents who wanted me to become an engineer,” he says. As a debutant in Five Star , he never felt that he had become an actor. “I did not have to exert much as the role was like my real life character. I was a college student then and I was asked to do the same in the movie. It was easy for me. Had director Susee Ganesan given me a bigger role, I am not sure if I would have done justice,” he says.
But the time gap between Five Star and Azhagiya Theeye taught him some tough lessons of surviving in film industry. “ Azhagiya Theeye was a sincere movie. It did not have any glamour quotient. It was about struggling assistant directors in the film industry,” he says. Acknowledgement came from Prakash Raj, the producer of the film, who wanted Prasanna to do his next, Kanda Naal Muthal .
Prasanna is always seen as a director’s artiste for his commitment to work. He was the biggest talking point and won critical acclaim for the negative role Daya in Anjathey . Till that time, Prasanna was doing goody roles in Azhagiya Theeye and Kasturi Maan . But it was total transformation in Anjathey . “It was my friend Rajan Madhav who introduced me to Mysskin. He initially offered me the role donned by Ajmal. But I was interested in doing the villain Daya and it surprised Mysskin. On seeing my excitement, he developed that character. Right from the wig, costumes and accessories, Mysskin was very clear. He never revealed the identity of Daya and it kindled the interest in audience. The film clicked and Daya stood for ever. I worked so hard for that role that I broke down on the last day of the shoot. I collected the wig, long kurta and even the footwear Daya wore in that movie as a souvenir,” he says.
Prasanna had no difficulty in coming out of a strong character like Daya. “I was simultaneously shooting for Sadhu Miranda at that time. During daytime I was playing the role of a gullible hero and at night I was busy shooting for Anjathey . It was like the split personality of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” he chuckles.
His performance won him nomination for Filmfare award for Best Supporting actor. Prasanna did not sign many movies after that though offers poured in. For, he wanted to do something different.
Achamundu Achamundu by Arun Vaidyanathan was one such movie which cast Prasanna differently, as a father of a six-year-old daughter. “It was exciting to act in a film that has no songs and regular commercial ingredients. It was shot in Red One camera and sync sound technology,” he says.
Though Pulivaal did not do well in the box office, Prasanna believes it to be a good movie. “The failure came as a big shock to me. It was a remake of Malayalam flick Chappa Kurish , which ran to packed houses. I was so impressed with the script I wanted to do the role Fahad Fazil did in Malayalam. Director of the film Marimuthu insisted on songs and comedy sequences, which were detrimental to the success of the movie,” he says.
