Working with Mani sir is like going back to school: Karthi

Despite the fact that his dubbed films like ‘Yuganiki Okkadu’, ‘Awara’ and ‘Naa Peru Shiva’ have done well at the Tollywood turnstile, it was this year’s release ‘Oopiri’ that helped Karthi become a household name in the Telugu-speaking states. One would’ve expected him to go on and green-lit another Telugu-Tamil bilingual to consolidate his place but he didn’t. Prod him on it and he reasons, “Bilinguals might be easy for the producers but they aren’t for directors and actors. Telugu and Tamil as languages are similar to an extent but when you narrate a film, it should be different.

You need a good writer for a bilingual. For the Tamil version of ‘Oopiri’, I worked with writer-director Raja Murugan. Initially he translated the Telugu version dialogues into Tamil and later came up with a fresh draft. If you operate like that, you’ll get a desired end product. As for as ‘Baahubali’ goes, it was a visual film and something that audiences in South India hadn’t witnessed before. ‘Oopiri’ is a performance-drama with emphasis on characterisations and dialogues. It’s different. How many bilinguals have succeeded at the box-office? Very few. ‘Oopiri’ is the first bilingual to have done well in both the languages.”

He continues, “I was offered a couple of bilinguals after ‘Oopiri’ but to my surprise the directors didn’t come to me with a Tamil writer. How can you make a film without dialogues? I’m not a writer. Dialogues and art are very important for bilinguals but sadly, Tamil industry doesn’t have good writers. It’s the truth.”

For now, Karthi is happy with the way his last Friday release, ‘Kaashmora’ opened. He says that kids and family audiences are enjoying the fantasy drama and their effort of two-years has finally paid off. What did his superstar brother Suriya made of the film? “When I showed him the first look, he was shocked and said, ‘What’s this?’ I told him to wait until the film releases. He watched the film in a theatre amid people and the interval bang impressed him big time. He said, ‘It’s been sometime since I’ve laughed like this.’ He later put up a letter on Twitter praising the film’s visuals, direction and performances.”

Next up, Karthi will be shifting focus to complete the remaining portions of his film with Mani Ratnam, ‘Kaatru Veliyidai’. He says it’s a love story of a pilot. “A week’s shoot is pending. We would be shooting a song in Europe soon.” Mani Ratnam picturising his songs abroad, that’s a surprise? “He wanted a snow backdrop for the number. I think Bulgaria has been locked, but I’m not sure.”

The suave actor started off in the industry by assisting Mani Ratnam for ‘Yuva’ and admits that life has indeed come a full circle for him. “When I used to discuss a scene with him, he used to put up an irate face. I was sure that I was bouncing him the worst idea but still I used to share it with him,” Karthi laughs uproariously, adding, “Now I’m discussing characterisations with him, how the screenplay changes when I react to a scene in a certain way but he is still 10 steps ahead of me. It’s like going back to school all over again.”

He confides that the ‘Sakhi’ helmer has never yelled at him on sets while he was an AD. “He used to tell me, ‘May be because you are a hero’s brother, I have a soft corner for you.’ To that I was like, ‘No, no. I’m sincere work-wise, that’s why.’ But he always gave me space to talk. That way I’m able to interact with him more now. I’m asking questions about life, decision-making and career. When I told him I’m doing a film like ‘Kaashmora’, he said, ‘Do what you like, that’s more important.’”

So, what aspect of the celebrated director does he like the most? He pauses for a second and says, “Passion. After 18 films, he still thinks he is a debutant film director and believes in not repeating himself. He blocks a shot and in the next second, he would be like, ‘Change the angle.’ When I tell him, it’s nice, he would say, ‘I’ve used the same block for my earlier film. I can’t repeat myself’.”