Talking Films with Pariyerum Perumal’s Kathir
We caught up with actor Kathir and talked about Pariyerum Perumal, Tamil cinema and being a newbie.
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Pariyerum Perumal was released around the same time as Chekka Chivantha Vaanam. One was a small budget film speaking about the sensitive, pressing issues in the society and the latter was a multi-starrer big-budget one. While Pariyerum Perumal was struggling to keep distributors running the film in theatres for the next week, the other onr had long queues. After being disappointed with the Mani Ratnam film, I set out to watch Mari Selvaraj’s gem of a film. And I was blown away.
Pariyerum Perumal is a heart-rending powerful film that brings to the table the issues of caste inequality and honour killing. What made the movie hard-hitting was how it was a stark reflection of reality.
And the hero who took it forward was Kathir. The direction, camerawork, acting, dialogues were on point. Absolutely impressed, I chased Kathir (a number of phone calls and texts later), and caught up with him for an interview.
From his first film Madha Yaanai Koottam (2013), all of Kathir’s movies have received a lot of critical acclaim. He has also been a part of films like Kirumi, Ennodu Vilaiyadu and Vikram Vedha.
How did your life as an actor begin ?
Kathir: Actually, I was never keen to act. When I started out with Madhai Yaanai Kootam, I didn’t know anything. I never went for acting classes. I didn’t know what was ‘entry mark’ or ‘favouring the camera’.
Pariyerum Perumal was such a brilliant movie because of the storytelling, acting, direction. How did you sign up for it?
Kathir: At around 3 am in the morning, I was talking with a friend when he told me about this good script and told me to search for it. Immediately, I got the director’s number called him the next morning and asked if we could discuss. The script had a life that I loved, and it was based on a real life event.
Have you had any interesting interactions with any of your fans?
Kathir: When I went to a theatre to watch Pariyerum Perumal, two guys were chasing us on a bike. We stopped and they took photos with me. And then one guy hugged me tight and kissed me saying, “Thalaiva!” What’s nice is you get this love for no reason and you get this love only in cinema, not even in politics.
What was your perception of Tamil cinema and what did it end up being like?
Kathir: I thought I wouldn’t survive longer than one film. The first one would be the last, I thought.
There are many actors whose families have also been in films which makes it easy for them. How does it feel to be a newbie in the industry ?
Kathir: Today, the biggest task in the film industry is to sustain yourself. To retain your audience and have that love going for you for many years. If that doesn’t happen, then I won’t go on to do another film. “Why do I have to come and see Kathir’s film?” - is a question I ask myself every time.
What is the homework you do to get into character?
Kathir: No, I don’t do homework. I feel if I rehearse, I’ll go plastic.
Character-based role vs commercial film?
Kathir: Character-based role in commercial film
Your favourite movie so far?
Kathir: When I watched Dangal, I thought to myself, if I do a film like this then I don’t need to act ever again.
What can we expect from you next?
Kathir: My next movies are Sathru and Sigai. Sigai is an experimental film in a thriller genre.
What questions should journalists ask and not ask?
Kathir: Usually, many ask these controversial questions so that they can make the promo interesting. Most of them ask the same old questions and it is interesting when a few people ask something different.
So does this interview pass your test?
Kathir: Oh, yes, yes, yes.