BILLBOARD
MAKING WAVES
SHORT TAKES
ROUGH CUTS
MEMORIES
ARCHIVES

Did you ever think of entering the political scene?

No.

Because of you following, don't you think you will be able to do something different on the political scene? These days, the general public is fed up the kind of politicians they have and the amount of corruption.

Yes, I too feel that vested interests should go. I don't have much knowledge about politics, but I feel that selfishness has gone to the core. I am happy that changes are taking place because of judicial activism. Let's wait and see.

Didn't your fans ask you to enter politics?

No, they don't like me entering politics at all. They want to see me only on the silver screen. Some politicians even asked me (to join politics) but I am not interested.

Is it because you find the political system dirty that you don't want to enter it?

That is one of the reasons. No, that is the real reason. It is really dirty. When I am happy with my profession, why should I think of changing to something else like politics? (Laughs) I will be a misfit in politics.

What do you do for relaxation?

I meditate. I go to my farm house near Bangalore and spend some time there. I exercise. I spend time with my wife and kids. Or, I sit in front of a computer and browse, browse and browse throughout the Internet.

What makes you relax more, acting in movies or doing something else like browsing?

Acting in movies gives me a lot of relaxation. If don't have work, I feel damn bored. I meditate and exercise to kill boredom. Then, of course, the Internet is there now.

Do you enjoy solitude?

Yes. Solitude is a kind of spiritual feeling. See, you came here to the world all alone, and one day you have to go alone.

Between these two moments, between birth and death, many things happen. I try to enjoy all those moments. I enjoy both the bitter and sweet moments. I think inclination to spirituality and spiritual thinking is there in my blood. My father was a kirya yogi and my mother also was a very orthodox woman. Earlier, I was very busy and had no time to think. Once I cut down my movies to two or three a year, I got time to think and started thinking about who I am, who we are and why we should go through this kind of struggle, etc. When a saturation point came, I began to think about god. Meditation helped me concentrate and think spiritually.

Do you believe in God?

I do believe in a Power. More that that, I believe in self-realisation. That is to find the god within you. I believe that there is a power within you, but have to search for it. If you realise the power within you and self-hypnotise yourself, nothing is impossible. I myself am an example. This is what I tell my children also. If you have any vision in front of you and try to keep it as a goal and move ahead, then you will reach there.

What was you ambition when you were young?

I wanted to be the centre of attraction all the time. I used to listen to music and dance in front of my relatives, in school, at NCC camps, etc. When people appreciated my dancing, I enjoyed it tremendously. It was in the seventies that the ambition to become on actor came to my mind. I think it was after I acted in a couple of plays and got the best actor award. So, I decided to come to Madras to learn film acting. In 1978, I finished the course and immediately I started acting in my first film.

How did your first film happen?

I acted in my first film when I was in the film institute itself. The role was supposed to have been done by a friend of mine, Sudhakar. But he was under a contract with Bharatiraja then, so he could not act in this film. It was he who recommended me. I got permission from my principal, Y G Parthasarathy, and then acted in that film. Krantikumar, a Telugu producer, saw the film and booked me for another black and white art film. It was released on the September 22, 1978.

You remember the date very well.

See, it was my first release. How can I forget? Exactly after 10 years, my 100th film, Trinetrudu got released!

Ten films a year! But how did you feel when you were awaiting the release of your first film?

Very, very tense. K Balachander and K Bapu were also there to watch the preview of the movie then. After it got over, they didn't tell me anything. But they said among themselves that I acted well and that I have expressive eyes. It embarrassed me (laughs). Immediately, Bapu booked me for his second movie, Manavoori Pandavalu.

K Balachander also booked me for his second movie. Film after film followed. I was so lucky. I didn't have to struggle at all. I could work with all the great directors like K Balachander, K Vishwanath, Bapu, etc. As an actor and also as a person, I could mould myself well because of my earlier association with all these great people. They were all so humble, and I learnt a lot from them. I also wanted to be like them, humble and simple, every though all my films were big hits.

Did you ever expect to be such a big star?

(Laughs) No, no. I wanted to be the centre of attraction, that's all. I wanted all people to talk about me. Unless you are at the top, nobody will talk about you. So, my aim was to reach that height.

Did you learn dancing? You dance so well.

No. Many people have asked me this. But, no. I haven't learnt dancing. I started dancing after I saw Helen dancing Piya to aa jaa.... Whenever I heard the song on radio, I used to dance. I used to do that dance number in front of many people and they used to appreciate me. So, I must thank Helen (laughs).

A few years back, I remember having read a cover story in a national weekly about you as the highest paid actor in India. What matters to you the most, being the highest paid actor, or getting appreciation from an ordinary fan of yours, or personal satisfaction?

It doesn't matter to me at all whether I am the highest paid actor or not. I feel what matters is kindness, human touch, culture, goodness, etc in your behaviors. You may be the highest paid actor today; tomorrow you will not that position. Somebody else will come to take that place. But your behaviour, your interaction with other human beings is most important.

Have you always been like this, or did it happen only recently?

I had a very sensitive mind even when I was young. It turned in this direction now. I want to start a charitable hospital... I want to ... To tell you frankly, I don't have a clear idea about what to do.

Is politics out?

Yes, yes... For the time being, that is not in my agenda.

You said, you are very sensitive. Did you feel very bad when many of your films flopped recently?

No. I am also very rebellious. I take it as a challenge. I get fully charged up when somebody challenges me. I am sensitive towards my work, I care about my behaviour towards people but I am very serious about my profession and I accept challenges and fight for it. But there are several incidents in my life which touched me a lot.

I felt extremely bad when I heard about people getting crushed to death on the first day of my film. Stampedes occurred when they rushed to buy tickets. Once a young man was electrocuted when he tried to come near me and touch me. I do not know how to express my feelings about all this. How can I explain? See, people want to just touch me, come near me, talk to me... their love moves me a lot.

I think I am so lucky... lucky... Please... I have no words to express my feelings. I think god is so great to have given me such a wonderful birth. If there is a next birth, I would definitely ask god to give me a chance to go through all this again.

Do you believe in rebirth?

Yes, I do. That's why I said I would love to go through all these wonderful experiences again.