“Once, when I was driving my bike with my helmet on, two girls recognized me by just looking at my eyes.”
“The day I became a hero, my dream was realised. Everything else is a bonus.”
“Caste has divided us. I wish it should be completely abolished from our society.”
“A new character is like bringing a new human being into your life.”
“We never take people seriously when they are alive, but once they are gone, we always think that we should have treated them better.”
“My father always used to ask me what my aim in life is. I used to tell him I don’t have any.”
“I was active on Facebook for a while, responding to comments and thanking fans for their appreciation. But I found that the Facebook feed was numbing my emotions. I’d see an extraordinarily tragic news item, and even before I could react to it, see a hilarious meme right below it. This was confusing me.”
“I used to be very photogenic. My brother took a lot of pictures of me in Dubai. I thought maybe I could be a movie star. There was a hurdle, though – I didn’t know anything about films.”
“If you start worrying about risks, you might as well stay inside the womb.”
“If you go to a theme park, there will be so many rides. You will get an exciting experience in each of them. Like that, every film is an experience that entertains you. Some films will touch your heart. Some will touch you emotionally. There is nothing more than that.”
“The food we eat is our identity. The youth of the nation must save our food culture and traditions. If not, it will affect future generations.”
“In feature films, I used to be the hero’s friend, a regular character. In short films, I played the hero; I got roles where I could work on my character and performance. They made me aware of myself as an actor.”
“We have to eradicate caste.”
“Politicians are dividing us based on caste lines.”
“I believe life is an ‘experience ball.’ You throw it at someone, it picks up their response… it grows. You play with that ball, learning what it teaches you.”
“If I am ever forced to choose between my identity as a Tamilian and an award from the central government, I will choose the former.”
“I’m self-taught. Even today, on the sets, I probe the lightmen, the stunt artistes… they are from a period I’ve not seen; I can visualise it through them.”
“I prepare my style of biriyani by sauting sliced onion, tomato, green chilli, ginger garlic and add required water and rice. If I end up adding a tad too much of salt, I used to add curd to balance it.”
“Directors are the fulcrum of the movie. They guide us well, not merely rein actors in. Whenever we stray, they bring us back on track.”
“Education is a basic necessity.”
“Your present is shaped by your yesterday, but you don’t have to advertise it.”
“I am not bothered about my career graph, as I am someone who doesn’t believe in planning things.”
“One of my biggest drawbacks is my inability to maintain my physique. I put on weight for ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ and never managed to shed it. Luckily, that look suited a few films, including ‘Orange Mittai.’”
“I had no interest in cinema until I was 24 years old. My friends had posters of their favourite stars in their houses, but I was far from a film buff – very detached from films.”
“I came to cinema for money. I had to settle a loan of Rs 10 lakh. I had no other go, so I thought I’d try my luck in films. I was earning Rs 25,000 at that time. It was not even enough for my family.”
“I was always under the impression that acting is an innate gift. One of the first things I heard them say at Koothu-P-Pattarai was that actors should realise the art of acting through their training.”
“Why are numbers so important? I take up a film I like, give it my best, and move on.”
“When an actor decides to play a character, he must exude some sort of charisma and look relatable, even if he is playing the role of a really unattractive person.”
“I surrender to my directors. I do that because I respect them immensely. In fact, a director’s talent scares me. I admit that they’re more intelligent than me, and I submit to that, as an assistant director does. Even when I have suggestions to make, I don’t state them strongly.”
“Planning bores me. I like to go with the flow. Being whimsical is nice, occasionally. It keeps things fresh; there’s no expectation.”
“If I spend 10 days at home, I’ll be dying to get back to the set. I love the thrill of a good dialogue, the buzz of shooting.”
“I am an actor who doesn’t believe in carrying an ‘image’ in the industry. I don’t want to get trapped in an image.”
“To be honest, many of my well-wishers want me to play the solo lead in films. Maybe, it’s time to think about it. In fact, I have cut down on signing up multi-starrer films.”
“As an artist, all I want is to be a part of good films.”
“I have both joyful and heartbreaking moments in life, even now. Stardom doesn’t give us everything.”
“If a film is suitable for family viewing, it should remain so, and if a film has some adult content, it should remain so, and these genres should never be mixed and spoil the vision of the story teller.”
“I can not stay at the place when a stranger starts talking to me. I will try to cut the speech as quick as possible and move away. I had to break this inhibition before becoming an actor.”
“I was not a fussy kid and had a good appetite. Only, I was not happy to eat keerai and vegetables.”
“When my parents force-fed me healthy food, they were confident they were giving me the best. But now, when I feed my children, I am not sure if what I am giving them is safe. Politics and pesticides are destroying our food culture.”
“I am always for and with the Tamil people.”
“I don’t take any project lightly. Every project is important for me. In fact, every scene in every film is important.”
“Director Jai Krishna is an optimist who has a never-say-die attitude. He has impressed me thoroughly with his faith in the industry. Not many are aware of the fact that this man had to wait for almost 30 years in this industry to direct ‘Vanmam,’ his first film.”
“During script narrations, if I feel the screenplay mood jumping abruptly, I tell the director, and they work on it.”
“All my films have turned out well only because of the director’s brilliance, not because of me.”
“The energy of first-time directors is tremendous. They work beyond the limits for a hit in this competitive industry.”
“I don’t overact, so people think that I naturally act well. I underplay my roles, and that has worked for me.”
“I worked as an accountant in an auditor’s office, at a textile showroom, a telephone booth, and a fast-food joint while studying. My dad found it odd, but he never interfered in any of my decisions.”
“I don’t differentiate a film as off-beat or commercial, because I just don’t understand the difference. ‘Naanum Rowdy Thaan,’ for example, wasn’t written for me. It came to me by chance after two or three other heroes turned it down. I agreed to do the role, as I liked the script immensely.”
“I have always felt that doing too much of homework makes the performance look plastic. I don’t even watch the monitor after I finish my scene because I can’t reprise it. I just go with the flow.”
“I’m excited and nervous about every film; once I understand the medium fully, I’ll relax.”
“I want to make my kind of films but make them work commercially, too. When my presentation meets the director’s imagination, the result will be great.”
“If you don’t see me act, my work is done. The actor must never take the character beyond the scope of the movie.”
“I’ll give the director what he wants, but please explain the requirement. If it reaches me, then there’s communication.”
“Whenever I am shooting in Chennai, I spend most of my time with my wife and kids. Sometimes, I take my kids to the shooting spot, and they just love it.”
“I am an artist who is ready to grab interesting roles that comes my way.”
“I’ve never consciously done ‘safe’ commercial projects; luckily, they have done well.”
“’Purampokku’ was one of those rare films made just like it was narrated.”
“The very expectation that an actor loves to experiment becomes a shackle that is difficult to snap out of.”
“As an actor, you need to use everything at your disposal.”
“The story is important for any movie, for it is in the film industry, the consumer pays the money before he or she gets the product. So, the responsibility of delivering a good product is on us.”
“Audience come with expectations, and our job is to engage them for two hours. We take efforts to make the story more interesting and also present it in such a way that it is liked by all the audience.”
“I never take credit for my movie’s success. I am the face of the movie, but there are numerous unsung heroes behind the scene. From the director, cameraman and editor to the light boy, everyone knows how difficult it is to satisfy the audience.”
“When I did ‘Naanum Rowdy Thaan’ with Nayanthara, she was in the peak of her career – I was apprehensive about her willingness to act with me.”
“There’s no challenge involved in any kind of role. I don’t have to prove or impress anybody.”
“My job is to be sincere to my script. I am passionate about what I do.”
“I don’t have a role model.”
“I will do whatever I can to become the character. I have no right to distract the audience from the mood of the film.”
“I don’t believe a role can be written keeping in mind some actor. Even if such roles exist, I don’t pick them because I generally choose roles that I think will suit my image.”
“Roles should choose an actor and not vice versa.”
“If you have a meaty part to play, I don’t see the harm in being part of multi-starrers. Moreover, I will be happy to be a part of a good film than playing lead roles in some bad films.”
“There is no hard and fast rule that I only work with debutants. I give prime importance to script, and when that works out, everything else falls in place automatically. In fact, most debutants express interest to work with me.”
“Acting and directing are two separate disciplines that rarely mix.”
“Directing films is easier said than done. The job needs a lot of sensibility to put many things in place.”
“When ‘Pizza’ released, I was a nobody. Initially, we managed to get only 100 screens. But, after its success, the producers of ‘Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom’ got 150 screens and also released the film in the U.S. Now, distributors are keen to invest in my films because they feel I have face value.”
“I have to consider the amount of business that my name can do and choose my projects carefully.”
“’Vikram Vedha’ is special because it has taken me to the next level in my career.”
“I don’t want to do films for the fun of it.”
“It is not that I don’t want to sign films, but I don’t want to accept any film coming my way.”
“I don’t choose my directors, but I choose my scripts wisely.”
“Most of my friends are assistant directors.”
“I used to hang out with a group of aspiring directors before ‘Pizza’ happened. We used to discuss a lot of stories all the time.”
“When I listen to a script, it has to be entertaining. People who come to theatre should be happy and entertained.”
“We are actors. We can adapt to any different look for the sake of the story and the character.”
“As an actor, I always feel that each and every character in my films has to be distinct. The character Thilak that I play in ‘Kavan’ will be one such unique role in my career.”
“I am a bad dancer.”
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