Ravichandran: My vision is too extensive for contemporary directors to understand

Ravichandran, popularly known as the Crazy Star of Kannada cinema, is also known for his forthrightness. He was conferred an honorary doctorate by CMR University earlier this week, and he acknowledges this recognition with a candid statement. “I have become a doctor to the extent of understanding the pulse of the audience. This award only pushes me to come up with films that will make them skip heartbeats and create positivity.” 

Ravichandran's upcoming film, Aa Drushya, produced by K Manju and directed by Shiva, will be released this Friday.

The actor has chosen to restrict himself to the front of the camera this time. Being a filmmaker himself, how different was it for Ravichandran to act in a movie directed by someone else? “When I act, I only go by the director’s vision. My vision and experience are too extensive for today’s directors to understand. It is better to listen to youngsters and follow their vision, than trying to instill your thoughts. However, it is a different scenario when I direct and act in my films. Then, the whole product is mine, and I give the liberty to the audience, to blame and scold me or appreciate my work.”

Ravichandran  believes he understands the audience of today. “I try to get into their psyche. I am known to take risks, especially when it comes to experimenting with films. Once in a while, I also do films that satisfy my ego as a filmmaker. So, there is a huge difference between me handling a project, and somebody else handling me as an actor,” he asserts. Ravichandran adds that the audience are also aware of the difference and judge his films based on it.

Aa Drushya also sees the Crazy Star playing a younger character, and it is said to be one of the highlights of the film. “Filmmakers are always coming up with new get-ups for their actors. The success of such attempts can be known only when the films come out. While a few filmmakers demand that I look younger, some directors want to make me look 60. One good thing about these different get-ups is that the audience will not think too much about my real age, and they will only know me as Ravichandran, the Crazy Star,” he says.

The director in him is still alive, says Ravichandran, making him come up with something new, irrespective of how the industry is behaving. “When it comes to my vision on screen, I make sure that I present it properly. But over the last few months, I am moving towards commercial elements than going with artistic views. I have a couple of reasons for this. I realised that the audience requires a lot of time to understand an experimental film. Secondly, earlier, we were making films for the audience, but today we are making them for critics. Every cinegoer has become a critic today. With mobile phones and the Internet, the review comes even before the film is complete. The feedback is all over social media, and they either make fun of the film, create memes, or end up making comparisons,” he says.

In between his acting assignments, Ravichandran is busy handling his directorial responsibilities too. He has completed major portions for Ravi Bopanna, and will next take up Rajendra Ponnappa.