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Meet the ATS officer of Unnaipol Oruvan

Ganesh Venktaraman was the surprise package in Radhamohan's Abhiyum Naanum.

In Unnaipol Oruvan, the Tamil remake of the Hindi hit A Wednesday, his restrained performance, and the way girls are screaming whenever he appears on screen has surprised everyone.

He plays Arif Khan, an ATS officer in the film (played by Jimmy Shergill in the original)

Needless to say, Ganesh Venkataraman is elated at the compliments coming his way. He talks to rediff.com about his Unnaipol Oruvan experience.

It has been a long gap between your first film Abhiyum Naanum but everybody is unanimously praising your performance in Unnaipol Oruvan. Do you feel the wait was worth it?

I was waiting for the films that excite me. I'd rather wait than choose some uninteresting films. I am just starting out in the film industry, so my focus has always been on working with the directors who have the right scripts for me and who can extract the right performance and mould me into a good actor. I want to be a part of a good script. I consider myself as a student of cinema who has to learn a lot. I feel as a newcomer, one needs to build one's profile.

'I totally identified with Arif Khan'

Are you not for the typical commercial masala entertainers?

I am totally for commercial, masala films. As an actor I want to explore the entire range. Like I said, I want to build a good profile and expand my horizon and reach out to the audience. It doesn't mean that a masala film does not have a good story and well defined characters. It has.

How did you get the offer to act in Unnaipol Oruvan, a production by Kamal Haasan's Rajkamal productions?

It is a very prestigious banner and I consider myself fortunate that my second film was with such a banner. After Abhiyum Naanum, the team at Rajkamal was familiar with my work and they were considering me for the role Arif Khan. I met Chakri Toleti in Chennai and he told me about the character. I then told him that I totally identified with the character.

'I attended a week long police training'

Identify with the character? In what way?

I still cannot forget what I saw on television when Mumbai was seized. I was in Mumbai then. The picture of the ATS chief Hemant Karkare putting on the bullet proof jacket, helmet, keeping his revolver and then entering the place where the terrorists were. There was not an iota of fear in his eyes. Within an hour, we got the news that he was shot dead. I could never forget the brave faces of the ATS officers. I can only salute them.

So, when Chakri spoke to me about Arif Khan, an ATS officer, I got really charged up. It was such an inspirational role.

While portraying the role of Arif Khan, did you have Hemant Karkare in mind?

I had many references. Chakri Sir asked me to take police training for the role. When you are playing an Anti Terrorism Squad officer, your body language has to be like that of him. I wanted that physicality to come, so I attended a one week police training in Pune. I also met the Additional Commissioner of Police, ATS  Mr Sukwinder Singh in Mumbai, and he gave me a lot of information about how an ATS officer works.

You have seen police officers in films but not an ATS officer. So, I want to be completely authentic. I didn't want to do anything in the filmi way. I also met the Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai. I did take training in combat training, rifle shooting etc.

'When you have talented actors like Kamal sir and Lal sir, you automatically raise the bar'

From the way your portrayal has been appreciated by all, do you feel the training you have taken has paid rich dividends?

Absolutely. I trained the whole of March and I started shooting from April for three months.

The film has really made me grow and there are a lot of changes in me. I was so close to the character that I read a lot about the ATS officer other than taking training.

You share a lot of screen space with Mohanlal who is considered as one of the best actors in India. How was the experience?

It was fantastic. I have seen some of his great films like Tanmatra, Vaanaprastham, etc, and I simply love him as an actor. He is one guy who doesn't look as if he is acting; he lives the character. He is one of my inspirations as an actor.

I remember on the first day of shoot, I was rehearsing my lines, suddenly I saw somebody adjusting my collar and there he was standing next to me. He said, 'hey handsome, are you ready? Let us go.' I was so embarrassed to hear such a compliment. Even when I was not shooting, I used to sit and watch Lal sir on the monitor. That was an awesome experience. He is also a very chilled out guy.

When you have talented actors like Kamal sir and Lal sir, you automatically raise the bar.

Though I didn't have any scenes with Kamal Sir, he would be on the sets all the time as a producer. He used to give me a lot of tips. Even in the first schedule, he gave me a run-through of every scene. In some scenes, he would explain and act them out for me. He is such a perfectionist that you learn a lot from him. He told me all the do's and dont's in cinema on the first day. He showed me different reactions to one particular scene -- from dramatic to subtle.

'All the characters in Kamal sir's films are well defined'

Do you think you are lucky to have acted in a film along with all these people?

Truly. This is only my second film and I had the good fortune to act with Kamal sir, Lal sir, Venkatesh sir... I play the same role in both the versions (Telugu version Eenadu) . At the premier in Hyderabad, I was flooded with compliments. Some people said, you look like a Hollywood star in the film. It is an overwhelming experience. I have never signed so many autographs in my life.

You were in a film that had so many stalwarts. Did you expect to be noticed like this? You are being described as the surprise package by all reviewers.

I knew one thing that a film with both Kamal sir and Lal sir had great visibility. Every actor in the film will be seen by people in all the south Indian languages. I was so sure of the visibility. I also knew that the character I was playing was amazing. All the characters in Kamal sir's films are always well defined. So, I was never worried.

'I am savouring the Unnaipol Oruvan compliments'

What's next?

Let me savour the Unnaipol Oruvan moments and the compliments I am getting, now. Cheran Sir called to congratulate me. He said, he never used to call anyone to compliment but he liked my performance so much that he wanted to call. I felt so happy.

Radhamohan sir and Dharan sir also called me. Prakash Raj gave me the biggest compliment. He said, Ganesh, 'you have made us proud today'. He was the one who launched me. I felt really touched to get such a compliment from him.