Harish Kalyan and MS Bhaskar’s 2023 film, Parking, won three awards at the 71st National Film Awards, which were announced recently. While the film won Best Tamil Feature Film, the director Ramkumar Balakrishnan took home an award for Best Screenplay, while actor MS Bhaskar was announced as the recipient of the Best Supporting Actor award. In a recent interview with Sudhir Srinivasan, the director has shared anecdotes from the film’s shoot to detail his experience working with MS Bhaskar.
Going back to the days when he shot for Parking, Ramkumar said, “Every time I rewatch Parking, I’m reminded of the joy and privilege of working with a remarkable actor like MS Bhaskar sir. For one scene, I requested a particular expression from him. He gave me four different versions, each subtly distinct, yet equally compelling. He even took the time to explain what each variation conveyed and asked me to choose the one that best fit the moment. Honestly, I couldn’t pick, as they were all brilliant.”
On MS Bhaskar’s method acting, he added, “There was one day on set when he seemed unusually angry throughout the shoot. After we wrapped, I asked him what had upset him. He calmly replied that he had been building up that anger for the scene we were shooting, where his character confronts Eshwar (Harish Kalyan) for hiring a young boy to wash his car, which could pose a risk to his daughter. That’s how invested he is; he doesn’t just act angry, he lives that emotion.”
He further revealed that it was news to him that MS Bhaskar lived as Ilamparuthi even off-screen. “Later, his wife told me that during the shoot, he was constantly irritable and dissatisfied even at home. He had completely internalised the character, carrying Ilamparuthi with him even off-screen,” he explained.
To give an idea about the talent and skill of the veteran actor, the director shared another anecdote. “There were also moments when I asked him to be more expressive in a scene, and he’d respond, ‘No reaction is the reaction.’ In the climax, when Eashwar goes on a drunken rant, Bhaskar Sir’s character just stares at him, stone-faced, for nearly three minutes. After the take, he asked if I noticed anything. I said, ‘You didn’t react much.’ And he smiled and said, ‘I didn’t even blink.’ That’s how deeply he was in character, so disturbed by Eashwar’s words that blinking felt like too much of a release.”
Indhuja Ravichandran, Prathana Nathan, Rama Rajendra, and Ilavarasu are also a part of the cast of Parking. The film marks the directorial debut of Ramkumar Balakrishnan. In the film, a newly married couple relocate to a new house, only to face escalating tensions with a neighbour over a parking space. The film, which hit theatres on December 1, 2023, opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics but suffered commercially due to a local weather calamity.