The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : He laments that the film industry is slow to appreciate any good performer

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

He laments that the film industry is slow to appreciate any good performer

Prasanna

He entered Kollywood at a time when heroes were stereotyped as macho, invincible protagonists. With the first few films offering him roles that mixed up romance, humour and poignancy, he was never able to gain the much-needed ‘action hero’ tag. Prasanna, however, remains unfazed. The success of ‘Achamundu Achamundu’ is enough to keep him going.

Prasanna talks to S. Aishwarya about the much-acclaimed project and his way of choosing roles.

Even before its release, ‘Achamundu…’ received its share of acclaim at the Shanghai Film Festival. Just when the crew thought a film screened at a film festival might not do well commercially, the movie proved them wrong by running full shows in several theatres. Dealing with a sensitive issue, it appeals to the audience with its social-awareness theme.

“We handled the issue with sensitivity. There are no visually disturbing scenes and instances are only suggestive. It provides fleeting glimpses of child sexual abuse that parents normally fail to notice,” says Prasanna.

Its success, clearly, has him in high spirits. “I am overwhelmed by the response. A visual communication student from Nagapattinam said he was inspired by the state-of-the-art technology used for the film’s shoot. Some parents told us how they used to leave their little daughters at home and the film has taught them to be cautious. It is a film with a social message but something people can always relate to.”

The issue is often swept under the carpet for fear of ridicule and sympathetic looks from people. If more films can bring out such stories, such things could be brought to the light of public, he says.

Shot entirely in U.S., the movie has a global touch to it, with the technical crew and a few actors sourced from Hollywood. “We screened it for the U.S. Consul General, Chennai. He was surprised and said this was not what their people expected Tamil movies to be. When you step out of India, people would only know Bollywood. And for them, it is synonymous with songs, dances and incredible fight sequences.”

For someone who was smitten by movies from school days, Prasanna is glad to see a growing healthy trend of embracing off-beat movies by the film industry. However, the actor cannot mask his frustration when he says the film industry is slow to appreciate any good performer. “There is no value for acting. Eventually, all boils down to the revenue. To sustain in the film industry, either your movie should do well in box-office or you must be among the top-slot actors.”

Even as he was scouting for a macho role, Mysskin offered an antagonist role in ‘Anjathe’ that could be turned down. With his sinister looks and subtle feminine gestures, Prasanna lived the role and made sure a couple of awards came his way. But the role closest to his heart is ‘Azhagiya Theeye,’ which was more than well received by audience for its breezy storyline. “It was very well made. Though I am determined to shed the ‘chocolate boy’ image,’ I can still do a movie like ‘Azhagiya Theeye’.”

His successive project ‘Naanayam,’ co-starring Sibi Raj, will be a story that deals with technology and its applications. The other impending project ‘Baana’ will also be “one of those movies that would not fall into the usual commercial storyline,” he assures.

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