When city-based theatre artiste Mathivanan Rajendran bumped into debut director Guhan Senniappan, he said, “You look the part. You should play the ‘psycho’ in my film.” And, just like that, Mathivanan landed one of the lead roles in Sawaari , the road thriller comedy releasing today.
Mathivanan aka Mathi is not new to the silver screen. He has played supporting roles in Mayakkam Enna and Vallinam . Andhra Mess , a heist film where he is one of the protagonists, is in post-production. And, he’s already started shooting for Guhan’s next dark comedy, Kanneer Anjali .
With a degree in Automobile Engineering and a Master’s in Human Factors and Ergonomics, did he ever think he’d see himself on the big screen? “Of course,” he says, without missing a beat. “I grew up film crazy.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Mathi is well-known in Chennai as the founder of theatre company, Stray Factory, which has to its credit 15 productions that experiment with languages, movements and formats; they have taken these acts to festivals across the country and the world.
As Ennada Rascalas, they’ve also dabbled with stand-up comedy and produced online content. Theatre, emphasises Mathi, was not a stepping stone to cinema. For a long time, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to act in films. And, playing stock characters — the jealous best friend, the angry uncle — wasn’t too exciting either.
“Supporting roles can be very small, and still require too much effort. Of course, you gain experience and meet people. But you can’t take that to the bank,” laughs Mathi. So how is
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
When Mathi returned to India after his Masters from Virginia Tech, he started working with Human Factors International, a design research company. Three years later, the day he paid off his massive student loans, he quit, with no money left, to pursue theatre. A year later, he started consulting with them again — for Macy’s, Best Buy, Standard Bank, etc. Over the last two years, he has also started teaching a course in user experience.
Therein started the juggling: he’s been directing, acting, producing, consulting and teaching. He’s finished presentations while working on sets; he’s scrambled for his luggage right after celebrating the success of My Name Is Cine-maa , to catch a flight and go teach; and, once, he showed up for a formal consultation meeting still dressed as a terrorist after The Great Indian Blogologues .
“In a single day, there are about eight different things to do. Sometimes, I find it very difficult to stay focussed,” says Mathi, who picks up his phone, forgets why he did so, puts it back and grins. Mathi says that he’s now taking a step back to re-evaluate. “Sometimes, you get caught in the rush of doing things, without wondering why you are doing it. Certain things might build an organisation, but how are you building culture?”
Now, he’s looking to move away from stand-up comedy and theatre workshops, and focus on producing good content — short documentaries, short fiction and the spoken word. “Over the years, I’ve also forgotten to give time to what I really want to do: act.”
But what with his many upcoming movies, there’s going to be no dearth of that in the coming year.