I love the forest. It is the place where you hear yourself better.Collection: Love
The less people know about you, the more you understand how beautiful life is. It's good when you exist only on screen. I don't want them to take me home. I love to have my privacy.Collection: Love
I am a bad boy. I don't come across clearly to a lot of people, so I am bad for them.
For me, 'Diamond Necklace' is a commercial attempt, as it has songs and glamour.
In Malayalam, I can improvise, and acting is easy because I think in Malayalam, but for 'Velaikkaran,' I had to prepare for a role, which is a first for me.
I often see only my mistakes. I always feel I could have done better. Every artist goes through it.
I don't expect to win awards while working in films.
It's the failure of my debut film which made me an actor, which made me want to succeed in the industry. But that doesn't mean I regret whatever choices I've made over the years. No, not even 'Kaiyethum Doorathu!'
When I choose the scripts, all I look forward to is an impressive narration.
I think everything is temporary.
If I do a film, I go to the place where it is based on, interact with people, and then, I believe, you pick up things without you even noticing.
When I began acting, my biggest fear was whether the audience will appreciate the kind of films I do.
Mistakes happen, and then you try to overcome those. I like that process.
Whenever I have really enjoyed being part of a film, it has worked well for me.
I enjoyed working on 'Maheshinte Prathikaram.'
I want to entertain viewers as much as possible.
I would like to do movies of all genres.
I would like to look funny on screen, doing comedy.
The five directors in '5 Sundarikal' experimented, and it was a very personal exercise. Amal, Anwar, Aashiq, and Sameer have done things that they have never done before. Debutant Shyju has also made a beautiful film.
I want my films to make money first. Awards and all can come later.
I will continue to do films that excite me.
I listened to the script of 'Carbon' at the end of 2014. I liked it the moment I heard it. I wanted to do it.
Most of the films that I do help me learn something.
I try to choose characters that don't remind the audience of my previous roles. I make a conscious effort for that.
If I had my way, I want to do 15 films in a year, but I have realised I cannot physically do that.
All I want to do is to make movies that are appealing to people.
I know it's a big gamble, but I want to do good films.
My father hasn't backed me in any way, and I don't think anybody has backed me.
Working with Thiagarajan Kumararaja in 'Super Deluxe' was absolutely mind-blowing.
I thoroughly enjoyed shooting for 'Velaikkaran,' and I made a great friend in Sivakarthikeyan during the process. Also, it was wonderful working with director Mohan Raja. I have not seen a director who takes so much effort to get things the best way possible.
I wasn't really sure about the kind of films I wanted to be a part of. That's when I saw 'Aaranya Kaandam.' I was stunned; it was such a stylish film.
I like movies made by Spike Lee - doing those films out of the U.S., that is really daring.
The closest encounter I had with films in my childhood was sitting on the lap of my father at a shooting set, and he would say 'rain,' and it started raining, and then he would say 'song,' and people started dancing. I thought I was sitting on God's lap.
I never wanted to be an actor but ended up being one.
You can probably ask any actor: every time you start a new film, it's literally like your first movie. Everyone, regardless of the filmmaker being a debutant or a veteran, takes their time to settle down when you begin the shoot together. It's like all of us have moved into a new house, and we are setting up the place.
I have been fortunate to collaborate with people who have been open to discussion. If I tell them something, they have always explained to me why they want it the other way.
Mohan Raja is an interesting filmmaker. He is constantly, if I may use the word, contradicting himself. He explains a scene, and then he will try to break that and rebuild it. That, to me, is filmmaking. Every scene is constructed after a lot of discussions.
I have never been 100% confident that I am right about anything.
Every character, when it comes to a cinematic representation, gets complicated and layered. You are given a lot of dimensions than a single dimension to an individual. That's the main difference between seeing something out of the window and seeing something on screen.
It is easier to produce a film on your own than convincing another person to come on board.
My thought process is in Malayalam. So, every time I have to work outside Malayalam, the process is a little stressful. I have to translate my Malayalam thoughts into English and back to Tamil.
All I believe in is, you need to be yourself.
There are two kinds of films: the ones that are devoid of logic but can still hijack the audience, and those that can win them over with logic. Both kinds can succeed, and I like to work in both.
I've done only things I've liked, and I'm happy that others have liked them, too. I hope it keeps going that way. But l would never want to do films which please just one set of audience; they should connect with everyone.
Offscreen, I'm a private person. I'm shy and don't know how to face the public.
I'm not a person who goes out of my way to change my look. I like my characters to look as natural as possible.
It feels good to hear good things about yourself.
I've always wanted to do a role based on a real-life person.
I think it would be a dream for any actor to play someone like Changampuzha.
I am a person who doesn't like responsibility of any kind. But I do enjoy what I do.