Two comedians, two contrasting styles of humour, and two parallel paths that finally meet. Yugi Sethu and Chinni Jayanth began their careers around the same time in the 1980s, yet it has taken nearly four decades for them to finally share screen space. The upcoming anthology film Vowels—An Atlas of Love finally unites the two veterans, who have represented distinct styles of comedy. This contrast was in full display when Chinni Jayanth digs into his unique vocabulary to describe Vowels. "Usually, there’s only one 'balfo' in every film. But Vowels has five 'gilfans'. Five directors have come together to make a 'balafi'. That’s how I would describe this film in my language," says the veteran with a twinkle in his eyes after making everybody around him laugh. On the other hand, Yugi Sethu brings in Leo Tolstoy and Agananooru to do the same. "James Baldwin said that love is war. But love is also peace. Leo Tolstoy then wrote War and Peace. Our Tamil literature covered this aeons ago, with the Agananooru dedicated to peace and the Purananooru dedicated to war," he ruminates, only to quickly slip back into his iconic wordplay and bring laughter once again. "Por adikardhu kaaga, cinema bore adikama irukardhu kaaga (War is for fighting; cinema is to ensure nobody is bored)," he quips.
Despite his experience of playing a pivotal role in the protagonist's love story in many a romance film, Chinni Jayanth assures Vowels has something new to offer. “So far, I’ve played the friend who helps the hero in his love story in films like Kadhalar Dinam, Kadhal Desam, Kannedhirey Thondrinal, and Idhayam. Each of these films explored love in its own way. But Vowels looks at certain aspects of love that weren’t really touched upon in those earlier hits. This film focuses on the love and relationships of 2K and Gen Z youngsters," he explains.
At the pre-release event of Vowels, Yugi Sethu made a rather controversial joke, comparing the film's trailer to a woman's miniskirt. When asked about the same, the actor admits his guilt for his old-school comedy style while also clarifying that he didn't intend to disrespect women. "It’s been a while since I last did an interview or addressed a public gathering, so in a way I feel like a bit of a 'boomer' now. It’s hard to clearly understand what is acceptable and what isn’t. These days, words get easily misinterpreted as double entendres, which was not the problem during my time at Naiyandi Darbar. I have immense respect for women—I have a daughter myself, and I always regard women with great reverence. At the same time, as jesters, we sometimes use certain lines purely to evoke laughter. It is simply a matter of creative liberty," he clarifies.
On the topic of comedy, some of Chinni Jayanth's roles and jokes are still relevant, with his 'Anbe Diana' comedy track from Kadhalar Dinam even becoming a film's title today. However, even he agrees that comedy in Tamil cinema has evolved and changed drastically. "Today’s films no longer really have the concept of a separate comedy track. Instead, genres like black comedy are more common, where humour is woven directly into the storyline. Most comedians today don’t do track comedy either, because many of them eventually transition into playing heroes. The style of comedy we had during our time was very different, and that kind of comedy has almost disappeared now," points out the veteran.
An interview with Yugi Sethu is incomplete without speaking about Panchathanthiram. Yugi Sethu, who chose to quit Mridangam out of not wanting to play second fiddle to another musician, was also hesitant to take up the Kamal Haasan headliner for the same reason. "At that time, I was the number one television star with Naiyandi Darbar, produced by K Balachander sir. The show had become hugely popular, and it also proved that a single host could carry an entire programme. Since I had faced many failures before reaching that stage, I was afraid of losing that success. On Naiyandi Darbar, I would openly tease everyone—even politicians—and I had even joked about Kamal Haasan sir. So when Panchathanthiram came my way, I wasn’t confident about being one among five actors," says the actor, who tried to diplomatically reject the offer. "I was hesitant to say no to Kamal sir, so I even used K Balachander sir’s name and said I needed our mentor’s permission. Kamal sir asked me to bring the same sarcastic tone from my show to the film. He even asked if I expected a higher salary, but I told him I was ready to do the role for free because sharing screen space with him itself was an honour. My only request was the freedom to improvise my lines, which he happily allowed," Yugi Sethu reveals.
He then goes on to express his gratitude to the late Crazy Mohan, who, he says, literally dragged him into signing up for the character of Vedantham Iyer. "Crazy Mohan had already completed the script but wanted actors who could match Kamal sir’s improvisational energy. Being able to improvise alongside such a versatile legend was truly a blessing I couldn’t turn down.”
If Yugi Sethu’s Panchathanthiram memories are rooted in improvisation alongside Kamal Haasan, Chinni Jayanth’s association with the actor also comes with another interesting facet—his much-loved ability to mimic Kamal’s voice. “Kamal sir’s voice is one of the most challenging to mimic because he changes it for every character he plays. Even his real-life voice is quite different from the one we hear in his films. As a singer, I would often perform songs originally sung by Kamal sir on stage. I began with ‘Kadavul Paadhi Mirugam Paadhi' and eventually even ended up recreating and branding his iconic cry from Nayakan," says Chinni Jayanth.
Apart from his multi-hyphenate abilities as an actor, filmmaker, writer, and television presenter, Yugi Sethu was also conferred a PhD for developing a new box-office-predictability model. Drawing from his mastery over the topic, the Anbe Sivam actor analyses why audiences no longer come to theatres. "Audiences today have very little free time, and that has become theatrical cinema’s worst enemy. Phones and social media have ensured that people don’t have to struggle to find means of entertainment," he explains, adding that varied tastes have also made matters worse. "People experience cinema in different ways, which is why it has taken Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth to come together to create a film that appeals to everyone." The actor then talks about Nelson's KHxRK reunion film having the ability to pull audiences back to theatres. "Filmmakers have already explored many grand ideas—Shankar imagined a hundred Rajinikanths in 2.0, and Kamal Haasan himself played ten characters in Dasavatharam. With so many concepts already attempted, bringing the two legends together might be the ultimate way to draw audiences back to theatres."
For Chinni Jayanth, the idea of the two legends sharing the screen is reason enough to celebrate. "Watching Rajinikanth sir and Kamal sir share the screen would be like having dessert after a hearty meal. I’m truly excited for the film," he signs off with elation.