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00:00Good afternoon, this is Manjusha Radhakrishnan, I'm the entertainment editor.
00:08Today we have South Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil language films, Karthi
00:13of course.
00:14Karthi, we know him from Kaidi in Madras and Ponny Silvan as well.
00:17He's here to promote his new film, which is a bromance I'm told, with Arun Swamy.
00:23Perhaps you should tell us, is it going to be a fun watch?
00:26Is it a departure from all the dark movies we have been watching?
00:29There's no action, so there's no stunt master in this film.
00:33I think it's like a Malayalam film, I would say it's like, it's a coming of age for one
00:40character in the film, it's a coming of age for him.
00:42And it's an emotional drama, it's a drama, pure drama.
00:46But it's got humour, it's got a lot of elevating moments, it's got a nice closure and then
00:52it also is a very personal film I would say for all of us, because we all belong to one
00:59particular culture, we all come from certain roots.
01:01So this film takes you back to that, reminds you who you are, you know.
01:05So especially when you're here in Dubai and you're working here, and you're so far away
01:09from home, from parents, it brings you or reminds you who you are and where you come
01:15from.
01:16It's a film which talks about love, unconditional love, to be precise.
01:19I think it's also about, you know, it's interesting you say it reminds you of your roots, like
01:23last month my grandmother died, she was 98.
01:26So I went back to India, all my cousins, like which who I haven't met for like say
01:30years and years, we reconnected.
01:32And I realised something about family, you don't need this intense love, irrespective,
01:38I think it just comes, we don't need to live with friends, with cousins, like Bangalore
01:43days, it was about three cousins, right?
01:46I know something about cousins bonding kind of like gets to us, is it similar, did that
01:50talk to you?
01:51Yes, it is very similar to that, all my school days, my summer holidays were in my mother's
01:57home.
01:58So we were like, my mother had siblings and their children all that they're together.
02:01So we all grew up together.
02:02So that's a bond, which is something else, you know, like, even today, you've grown up,
02:06they all have their own families, but when we catch up, it's again, like childhood, right?
02:11And there's unconditional love, you can just call, pick the phone and talk to them, ask
02:14for anything, right?
02:15No, that's the thing.
02:16It's, we are blessed to have that family around you, the larger extended family around you.
02:20Right.
02:21I know, you will love this film.
02:22You just love because you're blood, related by blood.
02:25And no matter how mean or evil they can get, you're like their family, you know, you kind
02:29of give them a longer rope.
02:30Do you do that as well?
02:31Correct.
02:32It applies to it.
02:33Definitely applies to it.
02:34Right.
02:35And, but that's not only that, they're also looking out for you.
02:38That's something, you know, they might be in some other town, but they're always looking
02:41out for you.
02:42They want to know what you, what's happening with your life, they're really interested
02:44in you.
02:45Right.
02:46And they're always looking out for the chance where they can do something for you.
02:48Right.
02:49And you know, I think that's very, very special, you know, especially if you've traveled abroad,
02:53you don't have a family anywhere and you're, you don't have people to ask help, you know,
02:57whereas here in Cousins, we just, they just have to know that you need help.
03:01Right, right.
03:02And before you can ask, they're there to help you out.
03:03It's a family code, I think, of course.
03:04Absolutely.
03:05Absolutely.
03:06What is the equation with Aravind Swamy?
03:08I have to ask you this because you guys genuinely seem like you guys like each other because
03:12two actors don't have to like each other.
03:14They can be amazing actors, have great chemistry, but do you actually have a great chemistry?
03:18I think it also comes from the respect I have for him, you know, we've watched his
03:21film for a lot of time and we know the person he is, he's one of the most brutally honest
03:25person, you know, he will never be polite.
03:29He's very affectionate, but he doesn't have to be unnecessarily polite.
03:32People can be polite and quiet and neutral and diplomatic, he's nothing like that.
03:38So that is something very admirable for me, you know, I like it when people are open and
03:41they say it because there's something to learn from that.
03:43Right.
03:44When it comes to craft, you know, he's so involved in it, it's so intense.
03:48And when you come across a film like Male Elegant, where it is heavily performance oriented
03:53and the characters are layered, then there's so much for you to give to that film.
03:58The film is already written so well, so first you want to do justice to it, you don't want
04:02to spoil it.
04:03But there is also scope for improvement, you can improvise and when it's only between both
04:06of us, I can see every single shot, he will take it so seriously, make sure we do something
04:13better than what's written.
04:14So that sincerity, you know, and that interest in doing it, I think that's what made both
04:19of us click very well, because we both love cinema, we both are foodies, so we can always
04:25keep talking about films and food and you'll never get tired of it.
04:28And I think, like I said, it's first from respect, and then I think we've developed
04:32that bond between us.
04:34One brutal thing that he perhaps told you about your craft, which you took in the right
04:38spirit.
04:39Like, I can be brutal, but I can also be mean spirited.
04:41For example, if you have a certain way of delivering lines, if it's a police officer,
04:48you have a different way of delivering, but when you're doing a casual, common person,
04:51you have a certain way of delivering your lines, because it comes from your nature.
04:55But in a film, you can still break it.
04:58That's something I realized only when he told me.
05:00You know, you have a way of spacing your words and saying it, but actually you don't have
05:05to repeat it in every film, you can find the space in between.
05:08That actually caught me, you know, like, how did I not think of it all these years?
05:11I've been acting, why didn't I think of it?
05:14That's something which immediately, you know, I take interest in it, and now I want to see
05:18how I can achieve it, without making it look like a performance.
05:21And because he cares for me, he immediately corrects me.
05:26Initially, it will be like, why?
05:28And then you realize, okay, he's saying it because he knows it.
05:31Right.
05:32Also, you guys have a common link, I feel, Maniratnam, both, they find you, I mean, he
05:36found such immense promise in you, and him, and finally you guys are together.
05:41Do you guys discuss that?
05:42Your bond with Maniratnam?
05:43I feel, discovered by Maniratnam is like a, I think, major problem.
05:46I was not discovered, I was not discovered by Maniratnam, I was an AD.
05:51You wanted to be a director, you were a reluctant actor, right?
05:54Yes, absolutely.
05:55So, actual discovery is Arun Swamy, sir.
05:57I am not the discovery.
05:58I am from a school where I worked for him, you know, I've been on the sets, I know how
06:04he functions, or how he, you know, creates, we've seen close to him and watched.
06:09The icing on the cake comes when he casts me in a film.
06:12Yes, were you surprised?
06:13Yeah, absolutely.
06:14And especially in a film like Ponniyin Selvan, where it's one of the main characters in the
06:19film.
06:20He trusts me for the character.
06:21He can't take it when you're not attentive, or you're relaxed, you know, you have to be
06:26more attentive if you want to become a director.
06:28Right.
06:29So, that's when you get it.
06:30His brother is Surya, dad is a famous actor, but you have carved your own niche.
06:35You have not, it's not easy, right?
06:37Or is it?
06:38I don't know.
06:39Do you get multiple chances, as Ananya Pandey told me?
06:40See, my father did not produce a film for me.
06:43Okay.
06:44Okay.
06:45He did not launch me into the industry.
06:46Fair enough.
06:47It's my friend who produced a film for me, because he had film dreams.
06:50And we grew up together, he would always say, you're an actor.
06:54So this bugger is the one who pushed me from being an AD to an actor.
06:58Right.
06:59So, my father has never recommended me for any film.
07:01Okay.
07:02Or my brother has never recommended me for any film.
07:04What my brother recommended me was to work as an AD with money, sir.
07:07Fair enough.
07:08I was lucky enough because they wanted somebody who can write Tamil.
07:11Everything else has happened, of course, I'm lucky to have Aamir sir in my first film.
07:15Right.
07:16To have a blockbuster in my very first film.
07:18Right.
07:19And then I worked with Selvaraghavan after that.
07:20But it's been a long journey, you know, my first film took two years, my second film
07:25took three years.
07:26Yeah, yeah.
07:27So it's been a very slow, steady journey.
07:28Right.
07:29And from this day one, I think both of them said, you have to make your own choices.
07:34They did not listen to my scripts.
07:35So you never went to them as a sounding board?
07:38Never.
07:39Never, never.
07:40That's so interesting.
07:41Because I started as an AD.
07:42I worked under money, sir.
07:43Yeah.
07:44When I listen to scripts, I reflect on it and I have to make my own choices.
07:47Is that why you are an engineer by profession as well?
07:50Was that your safety jacket?
07:51Yeah, my father would always say that the films is not for you.
07:54So he never wanted both of us to be in films.
07:56He would always say, be educated.
07:57You should always have one fallback, a degree where you're going to get a job if nothing
08:02works for you.
08:03Right, right.
08:04So I think being educated is not just for getting a job, it's also because how you can
08:10handle your emotions, how you can make informed decisions.
08:14So I think education makes a huge difference, handling your success and failure.
08:18You can't think that the success is only because of you, or the failure is only because of
08:22you.
08:23There are so many factors to it.
08:25Education definitely gives you a better understanding of all this.
08:28Right.
08:29As an actor who's been in the industry, how do you ensure it's safer for women?
08:33Are you very aware of what's happening?
08:36And it's okay if you take a diplomatic stand.
08:38The question is, how do you view the conversation and dialogues that are happening?
08:42Actually coming to the point, if you come across a co-star, or let's say a dancer or
08:47an assistant director, they're having trouble on the sets.
08:51And you come across it.
08:53They don't have to come and complain to you, but even if you sense it, there's always a
08:58chance that I can always step in.
09:00You know, I can just tell the producer, or probably if I am the producer, then I can
09:04always take a call.
09:05Right.
09:06Or I can at least tell my director to take care of it.
09:08So that much we can always do, being men on sets, and being men who have a say in things.
09:14Yes.
09:15See, if you're in a first film, and you're just already in mercy of everybody around
09:19you, probably you cannot have a say.
09:21Probably you're scared to say it out.
09:23Of course.
09:24And it also means you might lose your job.
09:25Yeah.
09:26But if it's not so, then the first thing you can do is to just step in and say, this is
09:31not right.
09:32I know we live in such polarizing times as well.
09:35Sometimes do you think we should separate the art from the artist?
09:38Because you know, I see some directors, like say Woody Allen, but his movies are brilliant.
09:44So it's very difficult.
09:45Sometimes I'm like, I'm dying to watch it, but I can't because he's been accused of something.
09:50Do you, as an artist, also have such issues, like where you think, you know, maybe I shouldn't
09:56work with a person because of his personal side and not his professional side?
10:00I prefer not to work, if I know a very bad conduct.
10:05Because that's going to bring in a very bad energy into the sets.
10:08In that case, I would prefer to avoid, because it's easy to avoid.
10:11You know, you work with people only for six months, and then you move on and go.
10:14Right.
10:15It's not like an industry where nine to five, you're seeing the same people.
10:17And it's not like an IT industry or anywhere else.
10:20Whatever you're going through, it's six months, and then you don't see the person again.
10:23So you can choose.
10:24Probably never ever, you can always have the choice.
10:25You told me that you're very careful with the movies you choose.
10:28Is that one of the factors as well?
10:29See, these are things which we are getting exposed to, we're getting sensitive about
10:33it only now.
10:34Yes.
10:35We've heard stories in previous generations, but we have never come across in our generation.
10:40Somehow in our generation, I think most people were educated.
10:42They have their own way of taking the job and handling the sets.
10:46So we've never come across it.
10:48But when put in a situation, how do you want to react to it?
10:51Right.
10:52You're not mentally prepared to handle every situation in life.
10:54You're taken by shock.
10:56It takes time for you to react to it.
10:58But now since it's come and open, and now we know that there are situations like this.
11:02So if you're put in a situation, how are you going to react to it?
11:04Now, I have to ask the question to myself.
11:07It's interesting you say you've worked with a new breed of directors as well.
11:10I'm thinking they think like you, right?
11:12Very democratic on set.
11:14You think, is that your USP?
11:15You give like new voices and you want to hear like not just a Mani Ratnam, right?
11:20You would work with actors who are also vibe with you.
11:23Most of the directors have been one film old directors.
11:26They just come out of one small film and then we work together.
11:30And that's also because I've seen they have a craft and they have separate individual
11:34voice to it.
11:35Yes.
11:36And then you want to work with them.
11:37But if they have not come up with a good script, probably we wouldn't have made a film.
11:40Because they had a good script, because they've already shown that that film may not be a
11:44hit.
11:45They've shown that they have the craft.
11:47Right.
11:48I just finished watching Kandahar.
11:49The one with Arun Samy, brilliant.
11:50I want to tell him how much I like the coffee conversation.
11:53I don't know if you've seen it.
11:54I've not seen it yet.
11:55And I also saw another one which is very disturbing, Sector 37 or 36, which Vikrant Massey, Cannibalism
12:01which is very dark.
12:03Would you do something really dark?
12:05Like, are you open?
12:07Why is that?
12:08Because you're the good guy.
12:09I look at you and I'm like, you can't do.
12:11My first film was very dark.
12:12Oh, I see.
12:13And it affects you very personally.
12:14Oh, I see.
12:15You go in a dark space.
12:16See, if you have to internalize something, only then you can give a very impactful performance.
12:20And when you do something like that, at least my process is like that.
12:24So when you internalize it, it really hits you hard.
12:28Like it takes time for you to come out of it.
12:30I see.
12:31So I really don't want to do it.
12:32Why should I go and do a dark space when there is so much other content there?
12:36It's not my space.
12:37That's all.
12:38Really?
12:39I think this movie is all about that.
12:40See, I like action films.
12:41Action films are different.
12:42But that's more like the fantasy, right?
12:44The all-male testosterone thing.
12:45No, I'm not talking about just...
12:46It's like Kaidhi, for example.
12:47Yeah, okay.
12:48It's not just that.
12:49It's got an emotion to it.
12:50It's a dad and a father and daughter emotion to it.
12:51There are layers to the action.
12:52It's not just like Hollywood, you know, like a set-piece action.
12:53It's not like that.
12:54So I need that human side to even an action film.
12:55I can't just do a mindless action film.
12:56But I don't want to get into a dark space.
12:57Fair enough.
12:58Fair enough.
12:59Last question.
13:00South Indian cinemas are having a reckoning of sorts.
13:01Everybody I talk to want to watch Tamil.
13:02Maharaja, for instance.
13:03Vijaya Sethupathi.
13:04We were talking about the interest that it has.
13:05Do you think it's a great moment to be an actor in South Indian cinema?
13:06To be in a country where people go to theatres to watch cinema itself is a great thing.
13:07Because I meet people from other countries where they don't even have a theatre.
13:08Yeah, Honduras, I think.
13:09And many, many, many countries.
13:10Yeah.
13:11So I think it's a great thing.
13:12I think it's a great thing.
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