He still cherishes the tiffin box he won as a prize for writing a play and acting in it, when he was in his eighth standard. Comedian Sathish knew right then that entertaining people was his true calling. When he was just 20, he left his home in Salem and came to Chennai to try his luck in cinema. Today, his dreams have turned into reality as, after a debut in Madrasapattinam, he is now several films old and is slated to star in many more this year. The highlight among his projects will be a film produced by A R Murgadoss with co-star Vijay, where he plays the main comedian.
Speaking to CE, Sathish traces the journey that brought his dreams to fruition, “I started off as an assistant to Crazy Mohan and wrote dialogues for stage dramas and tele serials. My break in cinema came when A L Vijay made me a co-dialogue writer in his debut film Poi Solla Porom.”
Later, he gave me my first break as an actor in Madrasappattinam. A spate of films like Tamil Padam, Marina, Malai Pozhudhin Mayakathile, Vathikuchi and Ethirneechal followed and Sathish has now become a known face in K Town.
Now, Sathish’s stardom is on the rise, as he has a line-up of big films in his kitty. He has major roles in films like Dhanush’s Naiyyandi, Arun Vijay’s Deal, the Sivakarthikeyan-Hansika starrer, Vai Raja Vai directed by Aishwarya Dhanush and Sigaram Thodu with Vikram Prabhu. What’s more, he is even getting offers for hero roles. But, Sathish is reluctant to take them up.“To be a hero, I have to learn to dance, fight and romance the heroine. I can do the first two, but romancing on screen will be tough for me!” he says.
Sathish is happy with the way things are going and his goal is clearly to be a comedian. “I want to be an entertainer. Nagesh and Goundamani are my role models,” he says. However, Sathish has his own priorities. “I don’t want to spout double-meaning dialogues that would irk kids and families watching me on screen.” He is grateful to Crazy Mohan for everything he taught him. “Drama was a big plus so early in my career. The sense of timing, improvisation and dialogue delivery techniques that I learnt from Crazy Mohan have been of huge help.”
In this age when star rivalries are common, Sathish shares a rare camaraderie with actor Sivakarthikeyan. “I first met him during the shoot of a short film called Mugha Puthagam. Our partnership grew with Marina and now Ethirneechal. In fact, we both are good buddies and help each other in streamlining punch lines for our roles,” he signs off.