The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Chinne Jayanth: setting new trends in television

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 23, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Chinne Jayanth: setting new trends in television

S.R. Ashok Kumar

"I feel slapstick comedy will make a comeback. One needs theMr. Bean-type of comedy. Only then will comedy be more talked about in Tamil films"

Chinne Jayanth

Chinne Jayanth is a well-known face in both film and television. After spending two decades in the `dream world' of cinema he can be counted among the few known for their versatility in the field. He has acted, produced, directed, and given stage performances. Above all, he is an excellent mimicry artist. Here, Chinne Jayanth talks about his film career and his future plans.

I started my career in 1985 in a Rajnikant - Revathy starrer Kai Kodukkum Kai. I did not have a godfather in the industry. Mahendran directed the film. I have worked in television, stage and cinema.

I became popular as a mimicry artist on the stage and in television `Tharaiyil Irangum Vimanangal' made me famous. I have also done a number of advertisement films. I have completed more than 300 films. Now, I am acting in Vaaliban, Kaanal Neer, Anbu Thozhi and OK Boss.

I have played the lead role in three movies — Chinna Pulla, Unakkaga Mattum and Oru Thadavai Sonna. These movies showed my acting potential. Chinna Pulla had Revathy acting with me in the lead role. It was sent to the national awards. Unakaga Mattum, directed by me, had 2 newcomers Adithya and Poonam playing the lead roles. I also introduced a music director, lyricist and dialogue writer.

I can take credit for introducing comedian Bosskey, singer Karthik, and several newcomers through my Vijay TV show `Kalakapovathu Yaaru', which has brought in a new trend and has also served as a benchmark for mimicry shows on the small screen.

I have staged more than 3,000 mimicry shows in the country and abroad. I am also conducting a research on mimicry. Now, I am doing a different kind of a show on stage called "Dubbing Mimicry". I erect a screen on the stage and imitate the personality on the screen. The personalities include cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, actors Amitabh Bachchan, Tom Cruise and Kamal Haasan, pop singer Michel Jackson and Hindi pop singer Adnan Sami. People seem to love this show.

I believe that my best performances were in China Pulla, Kizhakku Vasal, Idhayam, Kannedire Thondrinal and Raja Chinna Roja. I am now acting as a 60-year-old man in the film Kaanal Neer.

I believe the golden era of comedy in Tamil cinema was during the Nagesh and Chandrababu period. Their performances are evergreen.

I also feel slapstick comedy will make a comeback. One needs the Mr. Bean-type of comedy. Only then will comedy be more talked about in Tamil films.

There is no institute to train people to act in films now. Both the Pune Film Institute and Tamil Nadu Film and Television Institute have stopped the respective courses.

I intend to start a `CJ Institute of Film Technology'. I plan to affiliate the institute with a world-renowned film institute. If everything goes well, I may start it soon.

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