Do your best and keep learning - that's what I believe in.
Suriya
When people leave the theatre, they should remember a line, a character, a sequence or emotion. With entertainment, I want to give meaningful cinema.
I always make sure that every film of mine has some element of freshness to it.
The one thing humans can't control is time, but what if one has the power to do so is the core theme of '24.'
I was the eldest child, so I know how it feels to have attention shared with a sibling.
My dad never had a bank balance of more than three lakh and was always extremely compassionate towards his producers.
In Mumbai, it's almost like Hollywood. They can appeal to different segments and still be successful. There are multiplex audiences to whom you can showcase any lifestyle. But in Tamil cinema, we need to satisfy everybody, whether urban or rural.
As for Hollywood, there was an offer. But I declined to do it because of certain moral and ethical values.
From my side, I don't put pressure on the director to cater to a certain image. I am happy to do different films, and I have to stick by my director. I like to completely surrender myself to the director - that way, I think, I don't get to do the similar roles.
I don't watch many films. I just make sure my directors are really good. I will work even with a debut director, but the one-hour narration of the script should be mind-blowing.
I try and imagine myself in situations and figure out how I'd have reacted and responded to them, and then bring that insight into my acting. Much of acting is about borrowing from your real-life experiences.
I had this inferiority complex as a child, as I was not good at speaking. I was also not good in studies or sports and would often flunk in four-five subjects.
When you act, you want to emote and think in that language. I don't enjoy the process of doing a film in a language I am not good with.
I ask myself if I deserve what I have. What I have today is way more than I ever bargained for.
My father came to Chennai at the age of 16 from a village in Coimbatore. He was an artist and was clear he wanted to do something, so he came to Chennai and joined an art course for eight years before he came into films.
It is very important for both the parents to spend quality time with their children, at least till they are eight years old, whatever be our social status, or even if grandparents are available to take care of them, and that is the message we try to drive home in 'Pasanga 2.'
I'm just trying to up my films - how every film should be better than the previous one. That's what I struggle for.
I enjoyed working with Vikram Kumar, as he is an amazing director who is full of ideas, and he tells me that he has different compartments in his brain in which he places different story ideas and works on them simultaneously.
Even today, my father watches my films only in the theatre with the general public. And he's very tough. His first call will be to the director and the camera man, and only then will he send me a message.
How well we understand the kids' world is very important, and I myself am not claiming to be the perfect dad, and from feedbacks from Jo, I understand that more time should be spent with our children.
Sixty per cent of how you act is drawn from memories. And it's about who you are. I am a son, brother, husband, father, and caretaker. You connect with certain instances and emotions.
Being in Loyola College exposed me to other options and gave me confidence, apart from the freedom to bunk classes. I became a merchandiser and then a garment manufacturer, and interacting with foreign buyers and manufacturing foreign brands in India gave me a high.
My son was so excited about me doing three roles, and Jo and my parents loved the craft work and visuals, and I think '24' will be the most favourite movie of mine at home, and they are all waiting to watch the film in theaters.
Dad always said, 'Get a degree and do something on your own before you start movies.' He always kept me grounded, telling me the realities of the business and the struggles even the legends had to go through.
A lot of young policemen have told me that they saw 'Singam' and joined the police force because of that. Some tell me they saw the training process and want to be a cop like that.
