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Sasikumar: I don't celebrate success
Director, producer and actor Sasikumar has been described as the man with the Midas touch. Whatever he does, whether it is as an actor, director, or producer, has been extremely successful.
The very first film he directed, Subramaniapuram, has become a classic. Pasanga, which he produced,won a national award. The last film in which he acted, Sundarapandian, has justcompleted 100 days, which is rare these days.
Kutti Puli, in which he plays the lead, releases today, May 30. After the huge success of Sundarapandian, the new film is very hot in the market, so hot that Sun Pictures and Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies are presenting it.
Also acting in the film is national award winning actress Saranya Ponvannan, who plays the role of his mother, and young Lakshmi Menon, who is his love interest.
In this interview, Sasikumar talks about the success of Sundarapandian and what audiences can expect from Kutti Puli.
From now on, will you be acting more and directing less?
It is not like that. You can act in more films but you can't direct many films.
You need a lot of planning and preparation before getting to direct a film, but as an actor, I have to only perform that role. That is the only reason why I am acting more and directing less.
'I am not acting for money at all'
Do you look at acting as something that brings in money so that you can invest it in producing more films?
Not at all. I act in films because I love and enjoy what I am doing. I am not acting for money at all. Money has never been a criterion for me in anything that I do. I do only what I like and enjoy.
Let me say direction is my passion and it will remain so always. But I have started loving the process of acting too now.
I have been accepted by people as an actor, which not many get. I can't brush aside the love of people just like that.
When I spoke to you after you made your first film Subramaniapuram, you told me you had to act in the film as no other actor was willing to act under your direction. Did you enjoy acting at that time?
Yes, that was the truth at that time. But when my friend Samuthirakani asked me to act in Nadodigal under his direction, I asked him whether the audience would accept me as an actor. I also told him then that if they accepted me, I would continue to act.
When I was accepted as an actor, I started acting in more films, and I started enjoying the process more and more. Now I thoroughly enjoy acting. Like direction is my passion, acting also gives me satisfaction.
'I have been lucky but I am also an extremely hard working person'
What do you attribute your success to: hard work or luck or a combination of both?
You need luck but you can't sit at home and expect success to come to you. You have to work hard too.
Yes, I have been lucky but I am also an extremely hard working person.
When you feel like thanking someone for your success, who will you thank, God or the people who have accepted you?
I thank only God first. After that, I will thank the audience. Then, I thank all the directors who directed me, all the actors who acted in my films and all those who worked with me. But it is God that comes first.
Sundarapandian was a family entertainer and quite different from your earlier films which had more violence in them. Was it a conscious decision on your part to act in such a film?
My assistant Prabhakaran wanted to make a film on this story which according to him would be targeted at women. And, he wanted only me in the lead role.
He told me that the character was written with me in mind. When he said he had written it for me, I had to definitely act in the film.
Yes, it was totally different from all the other films I had worked in so far.
Sundarapandian's succwess was beyond our expectations
The film completed 100 days, which is rare these days. Did you anticipate this kind of success?
When we make a film, we all work with success in mind. I knew it would be a success.
Yes, the kind of success Sundarapandian got was beyond our expectations.
How did you celebrate its completing 100 days?
All of us celebrated with a lot of happiness, particularly me. I didn't want to confine the 100 days' celebration to a day's function.
What I did was, I personally went to the houses of each and every person associated with the film, whether it is an actor or a technician or a spot boy. I visited all of them and gave them a token gift.
It was like what we do when we invite guests for a wedding. I wanted to thank everyone personally.
How long did it take you to visit all of them?
It took me two-and-a-half months. I had to first locate each person and then visit his house. You see them on the sets but never find out where they live.
I took photos and videos with them so that I can have the moments with me forever. It was a new and touching experience for me.
Your new film Kutti Puli is described as quite hot in the market...
I feel extremely happy. It is such an overwhelming experience that audiences have accepted me so warmly.
If my film is hot in the market, it is only because people like to see my films and have faith in me. It is also my responsibility to give the audience what they expect from me.
Kutti Pulli has all the commercial elements that a film requires
It's reported that the film has all the commercial elements--romance, humour, 'mother sentiment', etc...
Yes, all the elements are there in the film. But all the elements are shown realistically and not in an exaggerated way.
It has been a long time since we made a film that showed the love between a mother and a son. There is nothing in the world that is above mother. So, mother's love will never go out of fashion. That is the truth.
However modern you are, however successful you are, your mother is your mother, and nothing can come near her love.
The National award winning actress Saranya acts as your mother in the film. What was your experience of acting with her?
I first met Saranya Ma'am when she acted as a mother in Ameer's Raam. I was an assistant director then. Now, I got the opportunity to act as her son.
I will only say this: she was Saranya Ma'am till now, but after the film, she has become Saranya Amma. That is the kind of experience I had! Should I say anything more?
You must be really happy with the way your career is going...
I am very happy but I don't celebrate my successes. I like to relish the happiness within and not by celebrating.
I don't like to celebrate success and cry over failures as I know success and failure are two sides of the same coin.
So, happiness is what I feel inside and it is not something to celebrate.