Sivakarthikeyan opened Tamil cinema’s “big event” account for the year with Sudha Kongara's Parasakthi. Released amid a tumultuous time for the industry, with several CBFC issues and release postponements, the period drama marked Sivakarthikeyan’s 25th feature film. On the most important lessons he learned through his decade-long journey as an actor, Sivakarthikeyan was quick to reply, “You should learn to choose your producers wisely.” He adds, “I realised that I have to learn and unlearn a lot more. You get comfortable with the belief that you know certain things, but that is not the case. The kind of films I wanted to make has changed as well. I want to keep changing the kind of genres I do.”
Considered one of the leading commercial stars in Tamil cinema, Sivakarthikeyan’s ascension was anything but a smooth ride. Getting candid about targeted hatred against him on social media, the actor reveals he fully immerses himself in work not to get overwhelmed by such things. “After you reach a certain level of fame, you get a lot of negativity. That’s when I fully dive into my work to keep myself occupied, not just acting, but also writing lyrics or taking on production work. Negativity does affect you, but nothing helps you subdue the pain more than creative work,” he says. Challenges are not just of the unwarranted kind, like negativity; being a star also involves some practical difficulties. "Take, for example, the audio rights, the first thing about the film that usually gets sold, which goes for 15 crores, and the race against numbers starts right there. And I get paid a lot too. So, there is a huge responsibility to make the film profitable for the makers. On top of that, I need to seek different types of stories and experiment as well,” he says. The star, who was part of back-to-back intense films like Amaran, Madharaasi, and Parasakthi, is also aware of the rising yearning among the audience for lighthearted films. “I want to do a full-fledged comedy again as well, but I’m not getting any such offers.”
Sivakarthikeyan confesses that his only focus as an actor is to “do films that get as many people to the theatre as possible.” However, producer Sivakarthikeyan has different priorities. “As a producer, I go with my gut feeling. Even if others don’t take it up or if it might not make a lot of money, if I see potential in a film, and in its director, I won’t hesitate to back it.” He cites his upcoming production, Thaai Kizhavi, as an example. “The film is led by Radikaa (Sarathkumar) ma’am, and the rest of the cast are relatively unknown. The last film I remember with a similar subject was Paatti Sollai Thattathe in 1988, and I want to produce more stories like that,” he says.
After addressing external obstacles and practical difficulties of being part of the film industry, Sivakarthikeyan speaks about the systemic hurdles. Parasakthi received around 25 cuts from the censors, and the actor says the team did not have time to think about the “rights and wrongs” of the issue. “Sudha ma’am’s only focus was to get the film to the audience. We didn’t have the time to think about how to respond. Our entire team worked like an army camp, around the clock.” The actor ruminates on how the film itself taught him patience and quiet resistance. He says, “While I was researching for the film, the thing that most fascinated me was how, during the anti-Hindi imposition agitation movement, the students who fought for the issue never hurt any other community or people of other languages. Some public properties were destroyed, but the students made sure no people were harmed. After reading about all the brutality and oppression, I feel blessed to have been living in a peaceful time that was achieved through their hard-won fight.”
The actor goes on to draw parallels between the student uprising that he lived through (2017 pro-Jallikattu protests) and the anti-Hindi imposition movement led by the students in the 1960s. “During the Jallikattu protests, we saw how the students organised through social media, but in the 60s, they didn’t even have xerox machines. I heard how students stayed up all night to write pamphlets, with each of them writing up to 100 copies about the need for the protest, for mass distribution.” Sivakarthikeyan points to the sheer scale of police and special forces deployed during that time. “Imagine how intense the protests should have been for them to mobilise such huge forces,” he exclaims.
Since Tamil cinema and Tamil Nadu politics have always been inextricable, any leading star who ventures into films with political undertones is inevitably asked the question of whether they have political ambitions. Sivakarthikeyan brushes away the question with a smile. He says he did Amaran for his love for “thaai naadu” (motherland) and Parasakthi for his love for “thaai mozhi” (mother tongue). He then adds on with his signature lighthearted tone, “Just to quell any such questions, I’m gonna do a full-fledged mass commercial film.” The actor goes on to reveal that his next film with director Venkat Prabhu, a science fiction fantasy, is currently undergoing pre-production work and will start shooting soon. The actor quickly pauses to give an assurance. “I have always done socially responsible films. Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, for example, is a satire with deeply political themes. I think, except for Remo, all my films are politically correct. I will continue to focus on socially responsible films, even if I do a comedy.”
Signing off, Sivakarthikeyan gives a piece of advice for anyone trying to break into any industry. “Over the years, I’ve learned that patience is one of the most underrated virtues, and it will help you overcome any obstacle.” While not a believer in drastic changes, Sivakarthikeyan still wants to take up one challenge more than anything, for 2026. “I wish to read a lot of books this year. I want to cultivate my creativity through reading.”