Jiiva is one actor who manages to treat his success and failure in a balanced manner. Son of legendary producer RB Choudhary, Jiiva carved a niche for himself, even at the early stage of career, with experimental flicks including Raam, E and Kattradhu Tamizh. He has, however, been facing a lean patch with some of his movies in the recent past not faring well at the box-office.
Nevertheless, the actor is all out to bounce back with his upcoming horror comedy, Sangili Bungili Kathava Thorae. Directed by Ike, a former associate of Kamal Haasan, and produced by filmmaker Atlee, the film is touted to be high in entertainment quotient. In a chat with DC, Jiiva speaks about why he chose a horror film, how mistakes make him more confident, the need for good writers in K’town and more.
JOINING THE HORROR BANDWAGON
I know Ike’s wife Tanya, through Yuvan Shankar Raja and we are all good friends. So Ike and I have been talking about teaming up for a film, which was not really materialising.Similarly, I knew Atlee from the time when he was an AD to Shankar sir, as we worked in Nanban. I could notice his passion for cinema even then. When I went for the success meet of Raja Rani, Atlee said he wanted do a movie with me, with Ike helming the project. Since, I knew both of them well, everything fell in place fast. Being Kamal sir’s associate, I wondered if Ike would come out with some out-of-the-box theme — surprisingly, it was a horror comedy! Honestly, doing a horror film was not on my agenda. But, the script of Sangili Bungili Kathava Thorae was fascinating and I couldn’t say no. It’s a complete family entertainer. It has an ensemble cast which includes Sri Divya, Radikaa, Radha Ravi, ‘Kovai’ Sarala, Thambi Ramaiah and Soori among others.
NO REAL-LIFE SPOOKY EXPERIENCE
There’s nothing called spooky. I don’t believe in supernatural stuff. Basically, I am more God- fearing and my parents have brought us up like that.
ON CO-STAR SRI DIVYA
When we landed in Pazhani for shooting, Sri Divya’s pictures were all over many tea shops! Such is her popularity down south (smiles). She has a brilliant meter for acting and adapts to
situations quickly.
REASON FOR NOT PICKING EXPERIMENTAL FILMS LIKE RAAM ANYMORE
There are not many passionate producers in Tamil cinema now. Good writers should come. Here, most of the directors double up as filmmakers. Earlier, there was lot of freedom while making a film. Now, with the advent of social media, and digitalisation, things have changed drastically. Producers have to face lot of problems like censor issues, tax, etc. Film people are being dragged into controversies on the pretext of having demeaned a particular caste, disrespected the sentiments, etc. And reviewing practices have also gone awry. We have restrictions and market that command a film. Irrespective of big or small, the film has to stand in a queue for its release.
ON HANDLING FAILURES
Truly, failures never affect me at all! I have a good life. Success or failures, I have learnt new things. Mistakes make me more confident. Kattradhu Tamizh was one of my most difficult films. Though, it was critically acclaimed, can you believe the box of the film came back from the theatres in 10 days?
PRODUCTION VENTURES
Initially, I did have an idea of producing films. But with the prevailing conditions, it is enough if I carry on the legacy of my dad, who has produced 89 films so far. He has also introduced maximum directors — close to 45! Now, I am creating a space for writing talents. So, as it is, I love my space in Kollywood and I am proud to say in my career spanning 28 films as a hero, I have given a chance to several debut directors.
POSSIBILITY OF SEQUELS
I feel I should make part 2 of Raam and Dishyum as they have a lot of potential to have sequels. Let’s see.
On HIS NEXT project — KEE
I am doing a thriller titled Kee, which has Nikki Galrani and Anaika Soti as the female leads. Directed by Kalees, a former assistant of Selvarag- havan, it is about social networking. Kee has many connotations — and it’s bound to be an intriguing ride. In Tholkkappiam, the ancient work on the grammar of the Tamil language, there’s a saying that goes, ‘all good things often also have a bad side to them’. That’s the crux of the film!
