Im a reluctant actor

You have now done 50 years in cinema. Your first film was at the age of five.
Yes,when it released,I was five. That was the start of the journey. I came from a small village in south of Tamil Nadu. Soon after this film,I got my first opportunity to travel to Delhi. Literally,my journey across the country. And it has not stopped because I keep coming back home.

What memories do you have of your first film?
I was a pampered child because I was a late child. My brothers were quite elder to me and were not rivals. I was the ladla bachcha. When I came here,this became my extended family.

How tough was it for a child of that age to act?
I didnt know it was acting at all. I just knew it was a different game where the rules are different. This (for me) is a theme park,where I have had my first toys. My first sword was literally crafted for me. I felt like a knight,like King Arthur. I walked out with my sword and when I broke that,I was taught in a lab here how to plunge a sword into somebody without the aftermath. My first knife was crafted by the carpentry section. My first go-kart was made out of film bobbins and we had it fixed from the carpentry section on a plate. It was fun.

Your work gives the impression that you still approach acting like it is fun. You still experiment with toys,which are now make-up and prosthetics. And that cinema is still a theme park.
It is. But the rules of the game are stricter and nobody is as kind to me as when I was a child.

Take us through the high points of your career.
First,let me tell you my beginning was here. I belong to a family of lawyers but was immediately adopted into cinema. My father was quite a maverick. When I told him I wanted to pursue art,he tried to convince me for some time but then just let me go. He wanted me to join the TKS Nataka Sabha,an old-style theatre. There,the guru,Mr (T.K.) Shanmugam,told my father that his sons education would not be ruined. My father replied,I have a few lawyers,barristers and educated people in my family,but no artist. And then,he held me by the scruff of the neck and said,Touch his feet.

You and Rajnikanth,your careers have run parallel.
Parallel yet diverse. It was not by accident,but by choice. We used to sit beside a tree and talked about our future. He had this Shatrusaab stylethrowing of cigarettesand people enjoyed it. And I said,Are you going to continue doing that? He said,Yes. I said,I am going into serious stories. And he said,That suits you and this suits me.

I read you would do motor rides together.
When Rajni came in,I was already a senior in the industry with a big scrambler. It used to be a law-breaking ride. It was a circus motorcycle which was also used in Ek Duujey Ke Liye. It belonged to a stuntman friend. I used to borrow it and it was almost like my bike.

Did you have a rivalry?
It was very stiff competition. Both of us came from the same guru,Mr Balachander. So,even if we had that look in our eyes,Mr Balachander would shout it down.

Whatever you did in Hindi cinema turned to gold. Ek Duujey Ke Liye was a cult movie,yet Mumbai was not able to hold you back.
They were making films very slowly in Mumbai then and I am used to a pace which would take me ahead and teach me a lot. You are not stuck in one place.

What was the riskiest thing you have done?
For a moment,I thought I will play the game according to the pundits of the industry. That was the riskiest thing I have ever done. They say that just follow the lead,just be the sheep and you will be safe. Whether they sheer wool off you or take you to slaughter,it is a good life. For a moment,I went in that direction. I cant say it didnt help me,I garnered the market and then went my way.

You have played a dwarf,a woman,a schizophrenicwhich were the toughest and the riskiest roles?
Every film is a risk. But I would say that the hard work was more for Dasavathaaram because when an actor is doing 10 characters,theyll think that he has become a megalomaniac. The narrative was maverick,there was a lot of money spent on it,and some 600 hours were put into make-up.

The only parallel I can find in Hindi cinema is what Mr Bachchan has done for Paa.
Now,yes. But we have been doing that for quite some time and I am not boasting. There is also that accusation of hiding behind masks. But then right from the time of Kathakali,its part of tradition to become something else totally. That is why King Lear has a beard. The main thing is about suspension of disbelief. You can use any technique to do that in Mughal-e-Azam,you bring in swords and horses. And it is not Mr Dilip Kumar but Salim.

Compare Amitabh Bachchan with Jack Nicholson. Nicholson becomes the character,Amitabh Bachchan is Amitabh Bachchan,whatever he does.
Mr Jack Nicholson is Jack Nicholson in every film. It is the script that ransacks him. Mr Nicholson is himself a good script-writer. So probably those things matter to him. Mr Amitabh was willing to be and consented to being a captive of fame. He could have easily gone another route but he chose not to.

Would you have done Paa?
Not now because I have done too many films of that kind,playing the afflicted person,bordering on autism. And that is one part of my career I overdid to an extent. Critics started complaining that I was playing to the gallery.

A.R. Rahman and Resul Pookutty have said that theres so much creativity in the south that you can be a big star without being a hero on-screen.
Oh,yes. People ask me why I wanted to become an actor,the truth is I am a reluctant actor. I am not equating it with being a reluctant messiah but the fame that a star gets is enormous and tempting.

You have led a very eventful life which included two unhappily broken marriages. Has that affected your mind,body,creativity and work?
Talking about body and work,I have 32 fractures. All breakages are painful especially when they are internal. But they had to be done,mutually,from both sides. I think all of us have moved on and,according to me,that institution is fast failing. On the other hand,the most resilient institution is the family itself. In spite of marriage,families still work.

Do you want your daughters to get married?
That is up to them. I would never insist on that. I have never asked somebody to do something that I myself cannot do.

We have come this far without mentioning Nayakan. Is that your best ever?
Mr Mani (Ratnam) and I wouldnt accept that,we are looking forward to a better future.

So what is the future? You have broken so many bones,you have learnt Bharatnatyam,karate,played 10 characters in a film. What remains to be conquered now?
Conquest is a funny word,but if theres any attempt at conquering,it is conquering oneself. Because the best fan,the best critic,the best enemy is myself. So I think what I am trying to do is conquer that aspect. I know my mistakes even before the audience has seen them. Talking about the future,I cannot say where it will ideologically lead to but technically I can say everything is going digital.

How come the longest-lasting superstar from the south has stayed away from politics?
Call it wisdom or lack of training,when I say I have said no to politics,I have said no to the business of politics. But I have my own political stance which I reveal in the confines of my home.

You knew MGR well,right?
Well,I have acted with him as a boy at some point. I have also been a technician on sets with him.

And Jayalalitha as well?
Yes. I met her for the first time as a technician and I realised that she was the only lady who sat down and read a book after the shot was over. The rest of them were chatting and she always kept reading a book. I also remember the abortive attempts at drawing her into conversations about the book.

That I figured. In long conversations with her,she comes across as very well-informed. It is quite contrary to the stereotype of Tamil politicians.
Except for the language barrier,Karunanidhi and MGRs wisdom about the world was surprising,though it was from a rural perspective. And I always wondered why people didnt see more of it. It was a political constraint,they dumbed themselves down for the peoples sake. I think a politician is captive of his power.

Just as a film star is captive of his fame.
Absolutely. So,I understand it from a different point of view,it is a safe point of view. A vantage position,you can look at it and sympathise.

Well,a serial risk-taker is looking at things from a vantage point,for once.
That is a luxury I preserve and maintain.

That is also a reward of success. We have had a wonderful conversation from childhood to cinema to politics to philosophy. And may we have many more.
If you would not have been an editor,you would have become a psychiatrist.

Certainly I could not have become an actor or a politician..
Wishing you all the success. 50 years,at almost my age,you have plenty of time to go.

Transcribed by Debesh Banerjee. For the complete text,log on to http://www.indianexpress.com