“I was a flop hero,” he says candidly much to my surprise. But that’s actor Raj Tilak for you. The man who acted in movies like '60 Naal 60 Nimidam' and over a dozen Tamil movies, makes no bones about the fact that he didn’t do great as an actor. But that has not curtailed his passion for cinema though it did drive him away all the way to the US. “I decided to try my luck in the US since I wasn’t too good at acting. And today I successfully run a chain of 6 restaurants called Madras Pavilion in Texas and Minneapolis,” he reveals. But the movie bug kept biting him and that’s why he decided to produce films under the Aparajit Films banner, along with two other friends. “It was under that banner that we produced 'Nanda' and 'Mounam Pesiyadey',” he tells us.
Today Raj Tilak is proud that his two films as producer were the turning points in the careers of its directors Bala and Ameer and also hero Suriya and heroine Trisha. “I am so happy when Suriya says in any interview that it was 'Nanda' which turned his career. Normally people give the name of directors only.” So is the pressure high on his next director Abhishek ( hero of Mogamul and TV actor) who is debuting as director with Raj Tilak’s next film Kadhai? “ I think he will do very well. I am very confident after hearing his one liner about the film,” says Raj Tilak.
So how did Raj Tilak return to producing films so long after Mounam Pesiyadey? “ I am the president of the Bharat Kalai Mandram in the US . Abhishek and a big group of TV actors had come there for a show and stayed with me. It was when he was leaving that he told me this story in one line. I was so impressed that I decided to produce it straightaway. That’s how the whole thing came about,” he says.
The movie has an NRI hero in Shaan who is currently a student while Niveditha, the heroine, is from Karnataka. Abhinay plays second hero. 20 days of the film’s shooting will be done in the US. Will Raj Tilak also act in his venture considering his penchant for the movies? “That depends on the director and if he has a role for me,” he laughs.
This time round, he is producing Kadhai in the name of his sons under the Akash Akshai Raj Cine International banner. Interestingly enough, Raj Tilak’s association with the movies goes beyond his own film career. “My father M Radhakrishnan was a choreographer and my mother CR Rajalakshmi was an Malyalam actress,” he recalls.
Raj Tilak is very confident that Kadhai will do very well. “Look at Nanda and Mounam Pesiyadey. They gave two great directors to Tamil films and two iconic actors. I think the same will happen with Abhishek as well. I am very proud and happy with my innings so far. Though I was not great as an actor, I am determined to be a success and give back my best to Tamil cinema through the films I produce,” he concludes. Going by the determination in his voice and his past record as a producer, this is clearly no pipe dream but could very much become a reality.
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