FACE TO FACE WITH PRASHANTH

"Be cool", he says. "Stars are not that inaccessible".

Tamil filmstar Prashanth came across as one of those guys you could get informal with right away. The star of such hits as Vaikasi Porandatchu, Sembaruthi, Thiruda Thiruda, Jeans, Jodi and Parthen Rasithen spoke to Chennaibest.com about his work, with a disarming candour that was totally free of pretensions.

How different is the Prashanth of your debut film and the Prashanth of today?

Every step you have taken so far, is a step towards what you are today. And what you are today will not be what you become tomorrow. When I started off, I was just a schoolboy. Today, I 've travelled across nearly three-fourths the world. I've done quite a number of films. I'm now a guy who understands things a lot better. I'm not that 17-year-old at my debut.

There were specific reasons why I ventured into other languages at that time. For example, I ventured into Malayalam because it was a script by M T Vasudeva Nair. There has to be something that draws me to commit myself to a film. As it happened, I got to work with the best filmmakers in Tamil since then - R K Selvamani, Mani Ratnam, Shankar...So thats why I've been doing Tamil since then.

I've now got a face that I must match with the characters I play. I can't possibly play a father of four or five kids. I need to play roles that match my visual age....romance, action...that sort of stuff. But in doing that, there are so many possibilities. For one statement; for example - 'I love you', there are a hundred million ways of saying the same thing. So each time, I try to make it different.

Right now, I consider what I'm working on my best. After five years, when I look back at this, I will feel I could have done better. So there's never a time when an artist can declare that he has delivered his best. If he does that, then I think its time for him to retire. That does not mean that I am not contented. I am. But I am definitely not fully satisfied with my work.

See, making a movie is a colossal task. There are so many people involved. The spot boys, the crane guys, the light men, the Art Director, the Cinematographer, the Assistant Directors, the Director...so many different people. There can be no one guy who I admire the most. For most who are part of the crew, it is a thankless job. We might shoot in a remote location and the Director might suddenly decide to use smoke in the scene. So, where do you get smoke at a remote location? The crew just uses its creativity and unbelievably gives you what you want right out of the blue. We might shoot at locations that are inaccessible to human beings. And yet, our crane guys, reach the cranes to the shooting spot.

Take the Director, for instance. He starts off making the film with a particular vision. But the Producer's budget forces him to restrict his vision as the shoot progresses. He might want a particular camera angle. The cinematographer may have a different point of view. So he gets into a fight on that issue. The lighting conditions may not be suitable for the shoot, but the Director may not have other dates booked with the artist. So each member of the crew has problems.

I was recently shooting at Ennore. It was 12.30 pm and burning hot. I had to do a fight sequence and I had no choice. So each person has his share of difficulties.

Of the recent films, I liked What A Woman Wants (thats something every guy wants to know), Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, for its technical excellence, Traffic, for its screenplay and direction, The Cell, for its visual splendour, Jerry Mcguire, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut... I watch all genre of films. Of the classics, there's Hello Dolly, Mary Poppins, Wizard of Oz, Great Escape, Guns of Navarone...so many of them come to mind. I don't think I can call them all out.

We have the best talent in the country. The best Directors, Technicians, Music Directors, Artists. We also have a fresh crop of stars, which most other film industries cannot boast of.

There aren't any weaknesses to talk of in the Chennai film industry. Not many films are being released. Every filmmaker is so scared of his film bombing. So all of them are putting in their 100%.

We sometimes work with second-hand lights, a 1954 camera, 1980 cars and still do a pretty good job of making a two and a half hour film. I am proud to say that I belong to this industry. Even the best of Hindi films are being made by talent from Chennai.

It is easy for the educated mass to demand classy movies and question the logic of running round trees and the hero fighting ten guys at a time. But the educated viewer makes up only 5% of the cinema-going public. So it makes sense for us to make movies for the 95% majority. Yes, we are trying to bridge that gap. That is why I make it a point that all my films are family entertainers which appeal to the 3-year-old right up to the 80-year-old.

At one time when Video cassettes came into the market, people felt the film industry would be killed by the reduced number of theatre-goers. But the public is coming back to the theatres. So what was once considered a threat is not there any more.

People think that filmstars are hardly accessible. Especially in the city, you find them recognising you, but putting on a mask of indifference, even if they actually want to come up to you. I would say - We're just as normal and regular as other guys. So be cool. If you want to say something, just say it. You don't have to be stuck up.

Get married.(laughs)

And, yes, the future has great movies for me and for the audience.

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