Pradeep Ranganthan is a familiar face to one and all now as the leading man with the back-to-back blockbuster success under his belt. 'Love Today' and 'Dragon', the former under his own direction, have marked the rise of a new breakout star in Tamil cinema. With a hundred percent success ratio as a director and star, Pradeep is not showing any signs of slowing down with two major releases this year, with Vignesh Shivan's 'Love Insurance Kampany' and debutant filmmaker Keerthiswaran's 'Dude' all set and ready in the pipeline. The actor who specializes in youthful romantic comedies, however, had a more than humbling experience making his way into the film industry, hiding his journey from his father during the first few years. Also Read | No star vehicles this Diwali: Tamil cinema bets on young talent with Dude, Bison and Diesel In a recent interview with Anupama Chopra, the director turned actor narrated a funny episode from his earlier days, when he was forced to hide his love for films from his dad and decided to pursue his passion in secret. "My parents did not believe this film dream when I started. I resigned from my IT job at the time. I worked for one and a half years in IT, but afterwards I started getting work in small advertisements. So I told my mom and quit my job. I asked her not to tell Dad about it, as I would pretend like I am working from home for his sake. So my mother managed as long as she could manage without telling him. It went on for one and a half years." He also added how his father thought that he was working the night shift in a corporate job for the whole one and a half years. "My father thought that I was going for the night shift. So when he wakes up, I will be sleeping, and my mom will tell him that our poor son has worked hard all night and is sleeping now, all tired. So she helped me. I used to manage with the money I had saved till then." Also Read | Rishab Shetty opens up about Karur stampede at Vijay’s TVK political rally: ‘It was not intentional’ The 'Love Today' actor was forced to put up this act till he made his directorial debut with 'Comali' in 2019. Pradeep remembers, "During that time, I made my first film, Comali, and there was barely one month to go for its release. So then my father got to know that I had made a film as the ads were coming out in the newspapers. Till then, I had told them that I am working my nightshift job and also simultaneously making my first film. That was very believable for them. So you can imagine what kind of family we are. They thought that you could work your IT job the whole week and make a film on the side on weekends." Pradeep also recalls jokingly how his father considered his passion for filmmaking as just a hobby and how he told him he could not be another Mani Ratnam. "They considered making films as my hobby. Then the film became a bit, and after that, when I met him, he asked me what I was going to do next. I told him I am working on my next film, and he asked me how long it will take, so I said it will take 2 years so. Then he asked me, 'Won't you be going for work till then?' I told him this is only my work now. It was very hard for him to understand. During that time, one day, he asked, 'Who do you think you are, Mani Ratnam? Among one lakh people, there will only be one Mani Ratnam, you can't be that'," says Pradeep. Also Read | Dhruv Vikram says he considers Bison his first film: ‘It’s not a problem even if you haven’t seen my earlier films’ However, the actor now fondly adds how his dad has become his biggest fan after he established himself in the industry. "He has totally changed now. My dad is so sweet now. He understands my job now and supports me. So then I understood that it was all due to his fear. Now he keeps all my photos and awards with him. He is very happy, and my family is all proud now." Pradeep's latest film, Dude, co-starring Mamitha Baiju in the lead role, is releasing on October 17 as the major Diwali release from Tamil alongside Dhurv Vikram's Bison and Harish Kalyan's Diesel.
