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Success, her company

The queen of Tamil soaps believes in change. Actress Radhikaa Sarathkumar talks to K. Jeshi about how she has evolved into a successful businesswoman

Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

WEARING DIFFERENT HATS With finesse

Chitthi was a trendsetter. It redefined the role of women in mega serials, as people who looked for a solution beyond their sob tales. Way back in 2000, this serial from Radaan Mediaworks broke records with TRP ratings of 37.1, Indian TV's highest ever. Soon Annamalai followed and now Selvi is on its way up in the popularity chart.

Now, actress and producer Radhikaa Sarathkumar wants her company, Radaan Mediaworks, already one of South India's leading TV software companies, to emerge as a one-stop entertainment company.

Thirty years in film industry later and with 300 films under her belt, she has also carved a niche for herself as a creative director, businesswoman and a mother. How does it feel? "Oh! The best is yet to come. We want to have our presence felt in all forms of entertainment. Even in the information and education segments of the industry," she says.

Her vision

She's already on her way to doing it. Radaan produces serials in Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati and Hindi. Its serial Vasudha in Sinhalese has made it to the top slot in Sri Lanka. She also plans to start an institute to groom young talents who want to make it big in films.

"I want my company to grow. It's my baby. We want to branch out in the entertainment segment. My husband's (Sarathkumar) 100th movie Thalaimagan will be produced by Radaan," adds Radhikaa, in town recently to take part in the Chamber Show 2005, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore chapter.

Success all the way

Making a successful debut as a bubbly village teenager in Kizhakkey pogum rayil, she has come a long way tasting success all along. Ask her about it and she says: "Success is wonderful. Now, people call me Selvi wherever I go. I always put in my 100 per cent in whatever I do. Hard work and a good team also matter. You just need the right mix of everything."

She continues: "Observation has been part of me — be it films, serials or production."

When she was still popular in films, she decided to get into television, a venture everyone thought was a mistake. "But, I stuck to my conviction. ... Change is progress. I realised the boom in television and its phenomenal reach. Also, my daughter was young and I found it difficult to travel around or go out of town. Television was just an extension of my existing profession," she says.

Have TV serials in the South come of age? "Though growth has been slower than in North, we are getting there. There is still so much we can do. I feel there is a shortage of creative thinking and this has to be addressed. Problems arise when one follows the path of successful serials and tries to copy them. Creative concepts are the key," she opines.

Her entry into films was an accident. But in her long film career, Radhikaa has acted with leading actors like Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan and established directors.

"I still think it's a wonder," she chuckles. It was her father, the versatile M. R. Radha, who applied her first make-up. "He said — Let my blessings stay with your acting — and I don't want to let him down."

Recalling her Kizhakkey pogum rayil days, she says life was like a picnic. "The experience is still fresh — the filming of poovarasam poo poothachu at Pollachi, my problems with dialogue delivery. I could say Idhu Ennoda Kili only after repeated rehearsals with then assistant director K. Bhagyaraj."

Setting goals

It was only later that she started looking at things seriously. "A sub-conscious way of evolving myself into a better person." That was also the time when Sridevi was preferred for roles with glamour and integrity, Sripriya for bubbly ones and Sujatha for powerful characters. "I decided I wanted to do everything. I started setting goals in my head," Radhikaa says.

Variety is her forte. Be it the strong character role in Bharathiraja's Kizhaku Seemaiyile or comedy in Rani Maharani or arrogance in Jeans, she infuses energy into characters.

"I loved the role in Kizhaku ... and till date it is one of my favourites. It brought out different aspects of me. I believed in my role in Jeans, though many discouraged me."

Radhikaa attributes her success in television to her experience in the film industry. "I have tried to incorporate all my learning (best directors, actors and good scripts) into running my company successfully. The industry has helped me grow so much as a person. Now, heroines come and vanish, but in our time we had a long-standing career and the opportunity to do meaty roles. Nowadays, they come out with roles only for girls and not for women. I'm a woman."

How does she manage to be a wife, a mother and a career woman? "It is tough, juggling everything. It takes a lot of grit. But you keep going. The rewards are satisfying."

Her strength, she says, is observation. "I always sit back and analyse. My weakness is that I never look back. I have had setbacks in my life. I just pause to learn my lesson and move on." Why is Radhika not seen much in films? "I have never said no to films. In fact, I would like to essay funny and wicked characters. Let the right story and screenplay come."

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