Seeing dad as an actor was an emotional experience: Gautham Karthik

The actor's first double-hero subject, Oru Nalla Naal Paathu Solren, is getting released tomorrow
Seeing dad as an actor was an emotional experience: Gautham Karthik

After a busy 2017 with five releases, Gautham Karthik is all set to open his account this year with Oru Nalla Naal Paathu Solren (ONNPS) Despite playing a variety of characters in recent films, he finds his role in ONNPS to be the toughest he has done in his career. “My character, Harish, is much like how I am in real life. Just being yourself for a film isn’t easy at all. I guess that’s because it’s hard to know who you really are. The director wanted me bring my energy into the character, and I’ve tried to do that.”

Interestingly, Gautham reveals that it’s a character that’s also similar to who director Arumugakumar is as a person. “There’s a quirkiness about Harish and that’s influenced by the director’s personality. You could say Harish is a mix of him and me.”

ONNPS is Gautham’s first double-hero subject and also the first time he’s sharing the screen with Vijay Sethupathi. “Vijay Sethupathi is a wonderful person and that’s a standout aspect of who he is,” he says. “As for being a fantastic actor, that is something he has proven time and time again.” Gautham says he had a whale of a time shooting for this film. “We were always laughing and joking, and it helped us make the comedy portions better in the film. I’m not exaggerating when I say that on one particular day, I was laughing non-stop for seven hours.” 

The film was shot extensively in the Talakona forests where Gautham says, he “had a hard time finding phone signal. We really understood the difference mobile phones made during shooting. When you can’t connect with the phone, you start connecting with the people around you.”

It’s not the first time he’s doing a multistarrer, given that his films, like Kadal and Vai Raja Vai, were multistarrers too. “I believe that every character exists in this film for a particular reason. When you’re sharing a scene with others, you have to let them do what they have to. You can’t try to dominate them. Nowadays, many actors seem to believe in this and it’s a healthy trend. At the end of the day, every actor has something amazing to offer.” 

Gautham’s releases have generally been of various genres. “That has always been a personal goal as I’ve been trying to explore my capabilities as an artiste.” Given that his recent list of films include Hara Hara Mahadevaki and his upcoming, Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuththu—which are comedies—I ask if this is a genre he really prefers more. “HHM was an adult comedy, and though ONNPS has comedy, it also has a lot of other emotions. Iruttu Araiyil has a horror angle as well; so I can’t agree that it’s comedy.” 

Now that Gautham has proved that he’s up for double-hero subjects, the fanboy in me asks him if he’s up for a remake of Agni Natchathiram, considering that Prabhu’s son Vikram Prabhu is active in the industry too. “I’ll never do a remake of Agni Natchathiram or any of dad’s biggest hits. There are certain films we should not touch; if we don’t do justice to them, it ruins both the new one and the old one’s legacy. My family wants me to discover who I am. In that sense, I would like to make my own mark.” 

Talking about the veteran actor Karthik, Gautham is teaming up with him in Mr Chandramouli for the first time. “I’ve always known him as my best friend; so seeing him as an actor was an emotional experience. I’ve never discussed work with him during my five-year career. This film gave me the opportunity to discuss films with him for the first time. His charisma, energy and sense of humour are terrific traits people have long spoken about. But seeing him perform made me truly experience what people have always been talking about.”  

Mr Chandramouli, that is half complete so far, has Gautham playing a boxer. “I watched a number of boxing films to get the action scenes right. For one sequence, I shot from 6.30 in the morning to 2.00 in the night in the boxing ring. That’s when I realised how tough the sport is and I also now can see that it’s an under-appreciated sport.”

Apart from Iruttu Arayil and Mr Chandramouli, Gautham has also signed a film with director Muthiah for a project that’s set to continue his exploration into Tamil cinema, as he slowly but surely understands his strengths.
 

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