Karthi is basking in the success of his latest hit, Madras, which has taken the box office by storm and earned him accolades from the audience and critics alike. Madras is not a typical commercial film— some, in fact, would call it dark, sombre and brooding. But what stands out in this film are realistic performances, a tight screenplay and excellent direction.
Karthi’s powerful yet underplayed performance as Kali, a north Madras youngster who goes through an emotional rollercoaster in the Pa Ranjith film, has resonated not just with the elite but even the masses. Ask him why he chose to play Kali and he says, “It was an experiment. The film had a different flavour, strong characters and the wall as a background behind all the problems. There was scope for performance with all the emotions Kali goes through. I also wanted to work with new talent.”
Kali is unlike any other role the actor has taken on in recent times and he put in a lot of effort to internalise the character. “Kali is meant to break the misconceptions people have about those in north Madras—he is good-looking, works in IT industry and is successful. I had to work hard to blend into the local milieu, and the second half was tough because Kali goes through various emotions like guilt, anger, vengeance,” he says.
Karthi raises an important issue when he asks how often does an actor get a script like Madras. “It’s nice to hear people say they want to see me in such films, but it’s not often that we get such films. This was a script that came to me for an opinion and I grabbed it. Ranjith had a clear vision and conviction on what he wanted. How many directors do we come across who can translate their vision on screen?” he asks.
While there’s a new crop of talent in the Tamil film industry that’s coming up with scripts like Madras, the ability to fit a star into it and give him/her scope for performance is essential if they want to sign them on. Says Karthi: “When there’s a newcomer in a film, expectations are low unlike when it features an established actor. You need to have strong characterisation, and not just a strong screenplay—Madras had both.”
Though the film has been well received, Karthi’s previous four outings—Saguni, Alex Pandian, All in All Azhagu Raja and Biriyani—were slammed by many. But the actor emphasises that there’s always a mixed opinion about every film. “The percentage of people who like a film versus those who don’t varies from film to film. If people didn’t like them, I take it in my stride and say they care for me and these films were not up to their expectations,” he says. But Karthi dismisses the notion that he chose Madras because his other commercial flicks didn’t click at the box office. “I signed Madras two years ago. I just had to wait for All in All Azhagu Raja and Biriyani to release since I had a very different look in this film,” he clarifies.
Since actors shoulder the responsibility of a film and—to an extent—its fate, they realise that their script choices and audience expectations have to be balanced. “If the audience expects me to do only films like Madras, sorry,” he laughs, adding, “It’s tough to find such scripts. But whatever films I do in future must have strong emotions and scope for performance. I think that’s what was lacking in my previous films.”
As for film critics, who’ve hailed Madras and panned his other films, all Karthi has to say is, “I respect those who write the positives and negatives of a film. If they just want to dismiss film, then I don’t respect it. After all, we work long and hard on every film.”