Keni got released last week, but Parthiepan hasn’t found time to catch it yet. “I have been busy with preparations for my daughter’s marriage. In any case, I just play a small role in it. It’s definitely not as significant as it’s being promoted.”Parthiepan isn’t pleased about it. “It is just a guest role, and when I do such roles, I usually take it in writing that they are not to promote me as the reason audience should watch the film. It is bad expectation setting,” he says. “I got a call from a friend who told me he has booked the ticket and he is going to watch it because of my presence. These promotions set incorrect expectations. If it’s like Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, I can understand. But here, it’s even smaller.”
So why did he do the film in the first place? “When it was narrated to me, I was told that the story is set before India’s independence when the borders of Kerala and Tamil Nadu were originally drawn, and that a well which was owned by both states, came within Kerala’s border,” he says. “A Tamil woman then fights for the right to use that and one person helps her out. The cause really resonated with me. It also felt like a small role I did in Malayalam 15 years back, in a film called Narendran Makan Jayakanthan Vaka.”
He almost seems to regret having done it. He is quick to deny it. “I did the film for its message, and hey, perhaps I’m wrong in expecting them not to promote it like they’re doing. After all, once the shooting is over, an actor’s job is done. I am just concerned viewers may be disappointed that it’s not a Parthiepan film.”He doesn’t agree to the label of ‘message films’.
“Right from Pudhiya Padhai, every film of mine had a message, offbeat or otherwise. But yeah, I am now doing films like Kuppathu Raja, Dhruva Natchathiram, Thittam Pottu Thirudura Kootam which will all show the jolly version of Parthiepan.”
I ask if he thinks he’s enjoying a very productive phase as an actor. “Not really. Only during my daughter’s marriage did I feel like I didn’t do a lot of films when I realised the price of jewellery,” he laughs.
Wistfully, he points out that he’s not made much money from films at all. “I am still working out of a rented office. Kamal recently asked me about my political leanings, and I told him that while I am socially conscious, all I really know is only cinema. This is where I have made and lost money,” he says. “Take Kudaikkul Mazhai and Housefull; they were both my productions, but suffered losses. Malayalam film audiences have told me that I should have done them in their language as they liked both films a lot.”
Parthiepan doesn’t like to dwell on losses. “Koditta Idangalai Nirappuga was a big loss, but I wouldn’t have thought about it for more than a minute. You can at least try to save a sinking shop but you can’t do anything to a sunk one. Take Kamal’s Mahanadhi and Anbe Sivam. They were commercial failures but have stood the test of time. So, I just believe that even though my films are loss-making ventures now, people will realise their value some day. The one thing I can keep doing is not to let go of my ideas.”
He has a whopping 60 scripts ready for filming. “I don’t know when I will do them. Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam was a big turning point and it has given me hope that my scripts will prove to be successful and match the audience’s changing tastes.”
His next film as a director will be Ulle Veliye 2, but it won’t be a sequel, he says. “The genre itself is different, but I felt the title was apt. Samuthirakani, Kishore, myself, Mamta Mohandas, Robo Shankar, MS Bhaskar are all part of the film.” He’s all for sequels. “Take Aayirathil Oruvan for example, when Selvaraghavan signed me up for two films. He has actually finished the script and is searching for a producer.”
He’s quite excited about Dhruva Natchathiram. “It will be as special as Aayirathil Oruvan. My performance will wow the audience. Out of 100 days of shooting, we have shot my role for 60 days. Gautham doesn’t compromise on his script and even did the patchwork in Europe,” he says. “He’s such a cool director. He will narrate a scene tastefully and ask me for my opinion. If I give even the smallest of inputs, he will be ecstatic. I, as an actor, don’t see the monitor, but he praised me by saying I am like a completely different person the moment I enter the frame.”
Any regrets? “Not really. I was supposed to do Nattamai, but I find dual roles to be unrealistic and funny. I believe that whatever has happened has been for the good. For a man who went and joined as an assistant director to Bhagyaraj sir, so he could do at least one film, that I’ve won a National Award is a journey well done in my books.”