I respect Malayalam films the same way I respect Bengali films. I think Malayalam films have not compromised on the essence and have kept their own statement and are coming up with very good themes.
Culturally, I remember listening to Salil Chowdhury's music for Malayalam films. Many Bengali actors have worked in our films, too.
I watch all kinds of Indian cinema. There are many good films in Bengali, Marathi and Malayalam.
My place is cemented in Malayalam films. Malayalam is not my language and it felt alien to me. But for them, I am someone from Karnataka who could deliver.
I watch a lot of Malayalam films and admire them greatly. The films have such wonderful content.
I have done about 25 films in Malayalam and won awards for my performances in films like 'Nandanam' and 'Saira.'
There was a time when not many people had access to Malayalam films. So those who did have access went on to copy the films, add a few bits, and present it like it was their own.
For me, Malayalam films remain the most important. I don't want to do more Tamil films just for the sake of it.
In Tamil or Malayalam, there was a time when light films ruled. Then, a spate of drama or women-oriented stunt films followed.
I see a lot of similarity between Bengali and Malayalam films regarding the basic emotions, the craftsmanship, art and performance. I also feel both the industries are very true to their art and culture.
2019 is proving to be a golden year of Malayalam cinema... As an actor, I have always classified films as either good ones or bad ones... I had five films that released this year in the cinemas and our audiences liked every one of them.
I am not called for good roles in Malayalam films for reasons which I cannot fathom.
I would love to do Malayalam films.
Kerala is a small state, and Malayalam films are seen by only very few people. That doesn't bother me.
There's a level where the themes of a film are very relevant to me and also the idea of finding out how relevant one genre is to another. I think that westerns and samurai films and superhero films have a lot in common. It's just that the scale of the visuals in tentpole films can sometimes overwhelm the drama.