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OFFBEAT Hero
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Sreenivasan on his roles as actor, scriptwriter and director.
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Sreenivasan, always the odd man out in tinselworld, creating waves....
SREENIVASAN'S STAR attraction is his lack of `star appeal' that is supposed to catapult actors into the ranks of superstars. Instead of banking on looks, he preferred to draw on his talent and innate humour to carve a niche in Mollywood. His brand of comedy, laced with black humour and satire, gave Malayalam cinema some of its finest films. Sreenivasan's impressive filmography includes films such as `Chidambaram,' `Oridath' `Oddarathu Ammava Aal Ariyam,' `Mazhapeyyinu Maddalam Kottunu,' `Naadodikattu,' 'Pattanapravesham,' `Vadakku Nookiyenthram,' `Chinthavishtaya Shymala' and `English Medium.' His versatility helped him work with masters such as Aravindan and Padmarajan and also with mainstream filmmakers such as Priyadarshan and Sathyen Anthikkad.
His latest flick `Udayananu Tharam,' has created a box office record. Here is Sreenivasan in his own words, punctuating his lines with his characteristic humour and sly digs.
Next project
A film on corruption. This all-pervasive terror has made its presence felt in every realm of life. I am trying to see how it can be tackled in a way that appeals to people. One has to ensure that it does not become a project filled with didactic dialogues and statistics.
Deglamourised roles
The Malayalam industry does not have many people who are willing to take risks. The late Satyen Master dared to be different. At the peak of his career, he had the guts to do a negative role. In `Karinizhal,' he played Sheela's father who killed the hero, Prem Nazir. Not many heroes today would have that kind of courage. Once, the director and I had decided to give the hero, who was a star, a negative role. That was what made the film different from the contrived stories for films. However, on the day before the shooting, the hero had second thoughts. He wanted his role to be a positive one. We could have stopped the film or rewritten the script. I chose the second option. I was forced to do the negative role. The change upset the rhythm of the film and it flopped.
Script writing
I joined the industry to become an actor. Script writing was incidental. Now, I find it difficult to decide whether I want be an actor or a scriptwriter. I have never planned my career. Circumstances played an important role in my life, films and career. I had several serious roles as an actor when Priyadarshan wanted me to write a script and that was how `Oodaruthe Ammava, Aal Ariyaam' was born.
One-liners
Some of the dialogues in my films did click. Lines like `Ethra manoharamaye nadakaatha swapnam'. (what a beautiful unrealistic dream). But, it was not intentional. Writing dialogues for a film is not the same as talking. There has to be a discipline. One has to choose the right word at the right time. It has be natural and yet suit the character, situation and compliment the storyline.
Vineeth as singer
I have no objection to my son, Vineeth, becoming a singer. But I was against him singing for a movie that was being scripted by me. I feared that it would be a kind of nepotism. Rosshan Andrrews was a new director and as the senior member of the team, I might have had to make crucial decisions. If my son was being given a song as a favour to me, I feared that it might affect my decision-making ability. However, Rosshan convinced me that Vineeth was being asked to sing as he was a good singer and not because he was my son.
Atheist or believer
Since we hail from Thalassery, we were Communists. It was something taken for granted. As a child, I was never in the habit of going to temples. But, I saw my friends visiting places of worship on the eve of examinations. Then I used to make a secret pact with God that I would do all kinds of things to appease the Gods, if I passed the examination. For some time, I was an atheist. But, there was always a secret fear whether God would decide to punish me for not fulfilling all the promises that I had made during a crisis. On the insistence of my friends, I started visiting a number of places of worship - temples, mosques and churches. One has to be wise to be a believer. But one has to be a scholar to be an atheist. So, after a great deal of thought, I have decided to be a believer.
(As told to Saraswathy Nagarajan)
Photos: S. Mahinsha
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