You will never see me dancing around the trees, chasing a heroine; I will never do films, no matter what the budget, for the heck of it.
I am 100-films old. In my heyday, I have done a lot of commercial films, including dancing around the trees with the heroine. But after working with Rituparno Ghosh, my understanding of cinema changed. Whatever good I am doing, it is because of him. If I am being called a good actor, it is only because of him.
In the '80s, there was a fixed costume of a heroine, and not the physical costume, but this is what a heroine is, she is an art prop. She will look beautiful, support the hero, dance, get saved by hero. I didn't ever aim to go there.
I am probably the only actor who came from television serials to films and was able to work in films this long. Of the 75-odd films I've done, in around 40 of them, I've been the hero.
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When films are so hero centric, and directors are dancing to the tunes of the hero, where is the Kannada voice or song?
Films just happened by chance. I had no interest in films or acting as a heroine, but that's a long story.
On OTT, it's not about her or heroine, every single character is powerful and a hero, heroine in their own space.
I enjoy the making of the film and it's something for me to do. If nobody ever comes to my films, if people don't want to give me money to make films, that will stop me. But as long as people come all over the world and I have an audience and I have ideas for films, I will do them for as long as I enjoy the process. And I like the whole process of making a film.
I love that Moana is a heroine, and I hope people take that away, and that you most certainly can be the heroine, or hero, of your own story.
I am somebody who is not too fond of fancy or commercial stuff, like dancing around trees. Even in the 20 films I have done in South, none had any of such stuff.
There are no hero-heroine films any more. They are more character-oriented.
Who is my role model and how long can I keep this going? I just move around and do different things and come back to music, try making films and come back to music, write children's books and come back to music.
The Earth never ceases to spin. All life is dancing : The trees, the wind, the sea. Keep dancing for the rest of your life.
Some theatres back home used to screen arthouse films by Adoor and Shyam Benegal, and week-long festivals of films from France, Germany and the U.S.S.R. That was when I realised there was a world where people did not run around trees singing duets. That it was possible to make a different kind of cinema.
I will not accept a role just because a big hero stars in it. I am not here to merely dance, run around trees, and be a glam doll.