A still from ‘Brother’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
What delights an interviewer? An interviewee who gives solid answers with headline-worthy quotes for every question even when the interviewer does not resort to taking the conversation to clickbaity territory and Jayam Ravi is one such delight. Busy with promotional events for his upcoming film, Brother, helmed by Siva Manasula Sakthi-fame Rajesh, Ravi, on a phone call, talks about returning with a family drama after career-defining films within the genre such as M Kumaran Son of Mahalakshmi, Unakkum Enakkum and Santhosh Subramaniyam.
Ask him if he chose Brother because it was an interesting script that came his way or because he was seeking a break from thrillers and Ravi says, “I chose it since it’s a nice script that was offered to me but in the process of doing it, I felt the lack of doing family entertainers before. More than me, my fans were asking why I had moved away from doing films like Unakkum Enakkum and Santhosh Subramaniyam. I respected their wishes and was on the lookout for such scripts when Rajesh sir met me.”
A still from ‘Brother’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
After playing a prince (Ponniyin Selvan: I & II), a port worker (Agilan), a cop (Iraivan) and a prisoner (Siren) in the last few years, Ravi feels his character in Brother is something similar to his real-life persona. “For films like M Kumaran, I didn’t have to practice much to get into the skin of the character. But if the genre is different, I have to do something that can be called, in a crude way, homework (laughs). In Brother, I play a character who does what he loves and that makes him similar to who I am.”
“Revisiting my movies is one of my favourite activities,” says Ravi as the topic veers into his family dramas from the 2000s. “I used to go to theatres wearing a cap to watch the audience’s reaction and we can gauge which scenes work for them. I try to tap into those emotions with my upcoming films too. The boy-next-door persona was my calling card; that’s how people came to know me. So why not use it?”
Asked why we don’t get such classics anymore, Ravi opines, “I would love everybody to create such classics but there’s also the need to bring a sense of newness. There should be new collaborations or a new screenplay that stands out. Such classics will happen organically and it can’t be forced.”
Ravi acknowledges that Tamil cinema has become more genre-specific. “Trends change at least every five years in the industry. We should educate and update ourselves on what’s trending. The dialogues we spoke earlier might feel cliché today. After the advent of OTT platforms, our attention span has also dropped and the success of YouTube shorts and Instagram reels proves how people like to consume quick entertainment. Commercial films still exist, but we have to categorise what commerciality means now,” says the actor.
Ravi has worked with several debutant filmmakers as well as veterans like Mani Ratnam. Despite Brother marking Rajesh’s 10th feature outing, his last few releases have failed to recreate the success of his earlier films. “Legends are legends and nobody can change that,” says Ravi. “Sometimes, some makers feel if they repeat what worked for them before, it will be a hit once again. But that does not happen as the audiences feel they have seen similar and want something new. Mistakes happen and everyone, right from directors to actors, we all learn from it.”
“Irrespective of our past successes, we need to keep the audience entertained. Cinema’la inniku success romba mukkiyamnu solluvanga (That’s why they say that in the film industry, winning currently matters more). The idea is to keep updating and challenging ourselves and at least give a better success than our last hit,” he says.
Speaking of learning from past mistakes, Ravi’s experiments in moving away from his comfort zone have sometimes resulted in underwhelming films. “Doing better experiments and not giving up is the way to go,” says a smiling Ravi. “People have encouraged me to try out films like Tik Tik Tikand Miruthan. Then there are films that we didn’t do well and it’s not a case of the audience not judging it aptly. I think we have to do better experiments with measured risks. If not, a sense of boredom would hit us.”
A still from ‘Brother’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Ravi has a slew of upcoming projects. Apart from the recently announced ones, the actor assures that Jana Gana Mana with director Ahmed and his reunion with his brother Mohan Raja for Thani Oruvan 2 which were announced a few years ago are still happening. “Since it’s been around three years since we shot a part of Jana Gana Mana, the director has tweaked it for today’s sensibilities and we will resume the shoot soon. Since AGS Productions was busy with GOAT, they wanted to put ours on hold to wrap the biggie. The talks are going on and updates on it will be out soon,” says Ravi who has Genie, Kadhalika Neramillai and a film with Dada director Ganesh K Babu tentatively titled JR 34.
“Genie and Kadhalika Neramillai are all set for release and the dates will be announced soon. The film with Ganesh Babu will go on floors in December,” adds Ravi who, after assisting director Suresh Krishna in the Kamal Haasan-starrer Aalavandhan, has been toying with the idea of directing a film. “I was initially interested but not sure if I was ready. But I can assure you that I’m ready for it now totally (smiles) and hopefully it happens next year.”
Ravi announced his separation from his wife last month and apart from becoming a topic of contention, it also, unsurprisingly, made way for gossip. Despite much happening on his personal and professional front, Ravi seems unperturbed by rumourmongers. “It’s their right to talk about anybody and I don’t judge anyone for talking about me. But I would want them to judge me for the work I project to them. What happens in my personal life is something that only I know and that’s how it is for any individual,” says Ravi.
“I’ve been in the industry for 21 years and earned a great name. Nothing can crumble that immediately and that’s the reputation I’ve had. I’m leaning on that positivity for my mental health.”
Brother is releasing in theatres on 31 October, 2024
Published – October 30, 2024 05:36 pm IST
