From working as an executive producer to transforming into a full-fledged actor, Raja Senthil, a graduate from the prestigious Madras Film Institute has come a long way. Though he has appeared in small roles in several earlier films, his recent movie Oru Naal Koothu where he played the father of Nivetha in a significant role, came in for considerable praise.
“I did my acting course at the Film Institute in 1990 and was dreaming to make a mark in Tamil cinema. But reality is different. After completing my graduation, the scenario in Tamil cinema was different. I was not considered mainly for the reason that I had very fair skin. However, I got an opportunity to play the lead in Kaalamellam Kadhal Vazhaga and I was even introduced by director Balu to the producer Sivasakthi Pandiyan — but somehow it didn’t work out,” he says.
When his peers from the institute on the technical side like Jayam Raja, Sirutthai Siva, Bommarillu Bhaskar and others got busy with films, Senthil didn’t want to waste time. He quickly grabbed several television serial offers.
“Later, I joined SP Charan’s production house and worked on the production of many of his ventures like Mazhai, Chennai-28, and Aaranya Kaandam. All thanks to Charan! It gave me a lot of experience. I then shifted gears and worked in the graphics department for films like Nippu, Sainikkudu, etc,” he adds. His passion towards acting did not reduce. “I knew Nelson, the director of ONK from my institute days. He asked if I could do the role of the heroine’s dad, even though I was slightly apprehensive about it. But I just went ahead with Nelson’s gut — and today accolades are pouring for my performance!” he concludes.
