My father was released from jail, after more than three years of imprisonment, in 1971. Without wasting any time, he wanted to get engaged in theatre. He asked me to join and also enquired if any of my friends were interested.
Radha Ravi
Item song dancers like Silk Smitha and Jayamalini have become irrelevant. The heroines are doing those dances themselves.
Every voter has a right to criticise a government and comment on its functioning.
Malaysian Tamil movies are amateurish, with songs picked up from our old Tamil movies and inserted in between.
DMK is the only political party that enjoys the confidence of the people.
All said, even an Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan could not reproduce the magic of the original 'Devdas.'
Vulgarity shouldn't pass off as humour.
Theatre owners cannot threaten actors with defamation cases and take them to court or seek compensation for losses incurred.
I cannot expect actor Prakash Raj, who is versatile across languages, to express solidarity with a cause.
'Karnan' ran for 100 days each at three theatres in Chennai alone. That is a record, since no movie runs for more than 100 days. My hope is that I don't ruin the original if it is remade.
When someone praises me for some speech uploaded on YouTube, I politely tell them I've been acting for many years.
Like Ekalaiva, I learnt a lot watching my father from afar. Though I did imitate him initially, I soon changed tack. When people have already watched and enjoyed M. R. Radha on screen, why would they need another?
It's a pity I have been stereotyped as a villain.
Maybe actors are more passionate about cinema than actresses. Many heroines today seem unable to look beyond glamour.
Good looks may be enough for a heroine, but to become an artiste, you need at least a working knowledge of the language.
I've been a character artiste for four decades, and in our job, we learn very early that it doesn't pay to be narcissistic.
There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.
I don't like it when filmmakers say, 'Just come like this, sir.' I like to experiment with my makeup. I wish more filmmakers let me do that.
All these years, people have spoken good and bad things about me, but I always end up being discussed.
When a director narrates a character, I find it normal to ask questions about the character's background, mood swings, eccentricities, behaviour... I do this to make my performance relatable. Directors who don't know their characters well find it difficult to answer these questions and, hence, find me annoying.
There is nothing wrong with Radha Ravi calling women to his office. There's nothing wrong if a man calls women to his office. There is something wrong if a man calls men to his office.
When I'm given a role, I'm consumed by a passion to bring to life a character that exists only on paper. I mull over the character for days and internalise his feelings.
It doesn't matter if I have experienced actors alongside or novices. It doesn't matter if the director is one film old or a hundred. All I'm interested in is doing justice to the role.
None who has passed through the portals of UAA has been a failure. From the former Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, to Lakshmi, Cho, Nagesh, Moulee, Srikanth, ARS and I, all have been a part of UAA.
People say I use foul language. I learnt swear words only from my father and YGP.
I've done 290 movies and have lost 200 movies for my outspokenness.
An actor does not have anything to do with the business of screening films.
For me, the character I play is most important.
Being on time is a practice I imbibed from my dad. He would be ready with make-up on at least three hours ahead of schedule.
My tryst with theatre began in 1968, after the last day of school in that academic year.
I forayed into films in 1974, and I was done with college in 1975.
1971-79 was when I shared the stage with my father. We did more than 500 plays together. He was a hard worker, and learning from him was more than a delight. The way he faced challenges and political pressure was a treat to watch.
In our age of Twitter and smartphones, there is no controlled release of a movie preview. The enigma of movie stars is lost.
