CHENNAI: R Sarathkumar is happy and also anxious. Happy, because his film, Kanchana Muni – 2 , which released last week in Telugu, opened to rave reviews. And he’s anxiously waiting for the same film to release in Tamil this Friday.
He does have a reason to be nervous. “After nearly 128 films, for the first time I play a transgender in this film and it was very challenging,” he says. “It required a different body language, which I’ve never done before, though I have dressed up as a woman in my earlier films.”
This actor-cum-politician says the message in the film applies to everyone. “I agree that everybody is equal and has as much right to live as anybody. No one should be alienated on the basis of gender in particular.” Sarathkumar cannot stop gushing about Lawrence’s directorial skills. “For someone so young, Lawrence is amazing. I’m doing a Telugu film with him next.”
An MLA for Thenkasi constituency, Sarathkumar’s movie career hasn’t been consistent. Though Pazhassi Raja (2009), a Malayalam flick, was a blockbuster, he hasn’t had a decent hit in Tamil since Ayya in 2005. To give him credit, Sarathkumar doesn’t mince words.
“Yes, at a time when directors were hesitant to cast me in their films, producers weren’t sure about investing in my films, distributors were scared of buying my films and theatres were unwilling to screen them, lest they should be in trouble, Pazhassi Raja came as a boon,” he explains.
But two more Malayalam films, The Metro and Christian Brothers , too received only lukewarm response from the audience. So is he moving to Mollywood?
Sarath plays it cool and says, “My next in Tamil is Vidiyal where I play a dual character. I am also doing Achchante Aanmakkal where I play the lead role as a cop from Tamil Nadu who is investigating a case in Palaghat, Kerala. I will also be seen in a bilingual multi-starrer (Tamil and Malayalam), which will be a period flick. I’m doing my first Kannada film, Sarathy, for which I’ve dubbed in my own voice. I also wish to do a film in Hindi soon.”
Juggling his acting projects in so many languages, this two-month old MLA seems to be serious about his political career as well. “I’ve learnt from my mistakes. I have already observed the key problems in my area — drinking water being a major concern, as people have to walk several kilometres to fetch water. In about two weeks, I will also reply to letters personally,” he explains.
As the president of Nadigar Sangam, Sarathkumar wants to aid the old actors in the film industry.
“We aim for a debt-free association and make it more remunerative to the artistes. Our agenda for the year is to make homes available for senior artistes who have no one to look after them. We also expect cooperation from the producer’s council in completing film projects so that films can be released on time.”
As one of the actors who spearheaded Celebrity Cricket League, the 57-year old star (who celebrated his birthday on July 14) was also instrumental in bringing actors from various industries together.
“CCL will continue every year. Now we have two more teams — from Kerala by Priyadarshan and Mohanlal and Sridevi and Boney Kapoor’s team from West Bengal, which makes a total of six teams. We expect to add a new team to CCL each year.”