Ahead of the release of Dhanush’s Raayan, the actor explains his different acting styles, altering his physical and mental efforts to accommodate characters of varying temperaments and more…
Edited excerpts:
You are in your golden phase right now. The interesting thing is, usually, a character actor would play a small role in every film and then move on to the next one. You, however, play either the villain or second hero or any big role, for that matter. When it comes to your style, how do you keep changing it in every film?
First, there is the desire to change it. Second, I’m lucky to get different projects. That’s how I see it. Take my character in Maanaadu, a hyper-tensed, stylish, and sleek police officer: he is always sleek, but it’s a certain situation that gets him hyper. In Don, it was a calm and composed guy, and even when he gets a little hyper, it’s a different mood. In Mark Antony, full-time atrocity! The texture of my throat changed after its dubbing process. Too much work. In Jigarthanda, again, calm and composed but an intense character. When it comes to Raayan, it’s a raw and rustic look. Unlike some other films, I dubbed only for a day. Nevertheless, Dhanush gave me an intense character. So I would call it a blessing to get different projects like these. Let me add, however, that it’s not me just doing all the work; the projects are doing it for me as well.
I find you one of the most interesting and exciting actors. Your style, I’ve observed, is a mix of Sivaji Ganesan and Jim Carrey. This is a very unusual mix because, even when remaining still, it feels like you’re doing something. There is an attitude, action… always some energy. I was blown away by what you did in Mark Antony. So when it comes to a calmer role like in, say, Bommai, how do you change yourself?
I just went by the requirement of Radha Mohan sir (director). The other thing is, when we become the character, a sort of magic happens, without our knowledge. It happens when you keep updating your craft — and your life, which is very important! One mode is through watching films. Take Leonardo DiCaprio. When you see a performance of his, it suddenly hits you that you can approach something from a particular angle too. It’s so close to life. Or take The Pursuit of Happyness. We can see many characters like that in our daily lives too. We have to look at the crescendo of a performance and keep updating it. It happens during comparison. When you combine that with what’s already in us…
I’ll tell you a story. When Sivaji Ganesan sir was acting in dramas, he never got paid, just food. If he wanted to go out and do something, he didn’t have the money for it. So what he used to do was wash the clothes of senior actors and get paid for it. With that money, he went to the Casino theatre and watched English movies. So he was influenced by Charlton Heston or whoever the top actors were at the time. And when you have the talent and interest to along with it, it helps.
Watch the full interview at:
