Finally, a smile

Parthiban celebrates 25 years in filmdom with sweet success

parthiban

It’s been 25 years in the movies. And 12 agonising years since his last hit. So the sweeping success of Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam (KTVI) , the dark horse that released last week against big budget Anjaan , gives Parthiban even greater reason to cheer.

The actor-director held a success meet for the film. “After Ivan , I never got the chance to do this,” says a visibly moved Parthiban. “All these years, when my films were trashed, I would mentally tear all the negative reviews, create an imaginary red carpet with one half and use the rest as a tonic for plodding further,” he reminisces.

KTVI , he says, was a huge gamble, a do-or-die attempt. “It’s sheer timing. The audience was in a mind frame to accept a film that broke all rules of telling a story; I gave this film my all.”

Parthiban struck gold with his very first film,

Puthiya Paadhai , even winning a National Award for it. He followed it up with some well-meaning films that came before their time, and some purely commercial fare. But, says Parthiban, barring Pachchai Kudhirai , he’s not embarrassed about any of his films. “Even KTVI would have failed five years ago. It is purely because of the audience that I am seeing success again.”

Even through his lean patch, Parthiban never really lost his connect with the audience. Cutting across generations, he had a huge following for his witty, matter-of-fact dialogues. That’s what elicits the maximum claps even in KTVI . “The biggest gift was getting applause in Chennai’s Udhayam theatre, known for its ‘mass’ crowd,” he smiles.

He’s delighted, too, about the industry’s reaction to the film. “Young directors such as Karthik Subbaraj and Nalan Kumarasamy are celebrating this film without treating it as competition. What else can I ask for?”

“I’ve always tried to break the rules. This time, it worked. It’s easy to narrate a proper story. It’s when there is no story that you have to put in extra effort.” Even the star cameos in the film are fleeting. “I desisted from using stars’ faces in the posters too. That would have been cheating the audience.”

The success has also left the usually eloquent Parthiban speechless. “I choked up during the success meet. I walked on a real red carpet after a long time. I must be careful not to slip,” he says. “For now, I’m just going to live the moment and savour this joy.”