The Intviews with Kollywood National Award Winners

Kollywood's on a high, surely, even as it came up tops in the recently-announced 58th National Film Awards. CT gets talking to some of the awardees who are basking in the glory of the moment

DHANUSH, Best Actor

NEWS BREAK:

I was in the hospital with my family and Superstar Rajinikanth when the news broke. I was quite blank on hearing it; it hasn't yet sunk in properly. I'm waiting for Superstar to return and then, it's time for celebration!

CHARACTER PERFECT:

Two things were difficult while filming Aadukalam - one, to look the part of a typical Madurai guy and the other, to handle roosters in the way they should be. Doing both of these while shooting the film was very memorable and will remain close to my heart.

INSPIRATION:

The character of K P Karuppu was my source of inspiration. I had to do a lot of homework and I'm glad it has paid off.

DEDICATION:

I dedicate this to Superstar Rajinikanth and pray for his speedy recovery.

ROAD AHEAD:

There's no need to change anything now that I've got national acclaim. My filmi career will remain the same and I'll continue doing films that I believe in. I feel I have a decent mix of films and I'll continue delivering them. Looking ahead, I have a commercial flick (Venghai), a film with Selvaraghavan and a kids-oriented flick. Srinivasa Ramanujam


SABU CYRIL, Art Director

NEWS BREAK:

I was in Diu shooting for Agneepath when my friends from Kerala called me up to congratulate me. My first reaction was, 'Endhiran was a tough film to crack and our hardwork has finally been rewarded!'

CREATIVE CHALLENGE:

Working on a big project with Rajini and Shankar gave me the muchneeded thrill. Shankar is a director who expects his crew to come up with new ideas every day!

PRAISE-WORTHY!

A mother forgets her pain after she delivers her child. Receiving the national award for Endhiran was a similar experience.

ROAD AHEAD:

I don't believe in resting in my laurels. This is my fourth National Award and after winning it, I feel I have a lot more to achieve.


VETRI MAARAN, Director

Trust has been rewarded and richly at that. The trust that the members of the Aadukalam team had in one another's potential has won them laurels at the National level.

STATE OF MIND...

Vetri Maaran, who himself has won two awards for his film - Award for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay - is elated. But his happiness has more to do with the fact that his other unit members too have won awards and that his film has been appreciated at the national level.

DEDICATION...

Says Vetri Maaran, "I dedicate this award to my guru Bala Mahendra and the fact that I got to dedicate it to him on his birthday makes it even more special. After watching the film, he had predicted it would win seven awards. His prediction has come true.

CREDITS...

"This award belongs only one per cent to me and 99 per cent to all those others who worked behind the screens. Especially, the award for screenplay and the contributions of four other people in this department were immense. They are Prithviraj Kumar, Manigandan, Vikram Sukumaran and R S Senthil Kumar," he says.


DINESH, Choreographer

NEWS BREAK:

I was in Switzerland for a Telugu film with Mahesh Babu when one of my friends called me up and broke it to me. I didn't believe him at first, but soon, I started getting several calls and that's when I realized it!

HOW IT HAPPENED:

While I was choreographing Yathe Yathe..., the only thing that was in my mind was that I shouldn't spoil the mood of the song. Vetri wanted the song to have minimal dance movements and he instructed me that the hero should dance in joy and not for the sake of dancing.

DEDICATION:

I dedicate this award to Dhanush and Vetri Maaran. It was difficult to choreograph a song with minimal steps and I've to thank Dhanush for making the song a success. He suited the character perfectly and thanks to his facial expressions, he made the song turn out into an exceptional number.

ROAD AHEAD:

I'm glad to have worked with some of the best talents in the Tamil film industry. But, this is just the beginning and I'm looking forward to better projects.


KISHORE, Editor

NEWS BREAK:

I was editing Murugadoss's production when one of my Kannada film producers called up to say Dhanush and Vetri Maaran have been awarded the national honour. While I was trying to reach Vetri, several others were trying to call me. I didn't know even I'd won the award until Vetri told me!

HOW IT HAPPENED:

To work on Aadukalam, I had to drop out of three films by big directors. But I was convinced Vetri's film would work big time. There were several scenes in the film that I didn't want to chop. And I just couldn't edit the scene in which Dhanush's mother dies and he delivers his dialogue with tears in his eyes. Dhanush was fantabulous in that scene.

DEDICATION:

This award is dedicated to Lenin and V T Vijayan, under whom I trained. I was assisting them in Polladhavan and they told Vetri I could edit Aadukalam on my own. It's their trust that motivated me. I also have to thank my parents

ROAD AHEAD:

I now want to broaden my horizon and work with directors who can give me different subjects to work on. Be it a commercial film or a short film, I want to learn new things in this industry.


THAMBI RAMIAH, Actor

REACTIONS FROM THE INDUSTRY:

I'm extremely happy about this honour. Even at the time of the movie's release, several well-wishers like Suhasini and Superstar Rajinikanth watched the film and commended my effort. In fact, the Superstar hugged me and said, 'What a performance!'

DEDICATION:

I dedicate this award to my director Prabhu Solomon. I also wish to express my heartfelt thanks to all the cast and the crew members of the film, in particular, music director Imman and actors Amala Paul and Vidharth. I also thank producer Kalpathi S Aghoram and Udhayanidhi Stalin, who marketed the film.

INSPIRATION:

My brother Ambigapathi made me proud by winning the Mr Brain contest in Muscat. My daughter Viveka made me proud by winning the gold medal in Anna University in 2009. She is now pursuing her studies in Sweden. Now, I am glad that I have made them both proud and happy by winning this award.

ROAD AHEAD:

Until a man turns 45, the body has strength and the soul is spirited After that, awards like these bolster energy levels, both physically and mentally, and egg you on to perform greater things.


SARANYA PONVANNAN, Actress

NEWS BREAK:

I was at home when I got the news. It was broken to me by a media person.

REACTIONS FROM THE INDUSTRY:

Most of my colleagues felt that the award is an acknowledgement of my body of work over the last decade than just for my performance in Thenmerku Paruvakaatru. But what everyone unanimously agreed was that I managed to get the Best Actress award despite being seen as a character artist. Everyone felt the jury has valued an actor based on their work and not on their stature.

INSPIRATION:

I'm a city-bred person and know zilch about a villager's way of living. My inspiration for the role is my mother-in-law, who hails from a village. I used to observe and admire the way she dresses, the way she talks and the way she behaves with her children. Women in village have an enormous amount of self respect (that almost borders on arrogance) which they will never give up, no matter how much love you shower on them.

DEDICATION:

Definitely, to my family; they are my greatest support.

MEMORABLE MOMENT:

It was hard shooting for the film. The weather was awful; it was extremely hot and I used to hate standing in the sun for the shoot. There was a scene in which I had to walk for a long distance despite being stabbed and I felt that I would faint because of the heat. Another memorable moment was ploughing the field. It was really exciting. I never knew that cows and bulls are taller than humans and shooting for such a scene made me appreciate and respect our farmers better.

WHAT'S NEXT:

I'm a total pessimist by nature. My inspiration in life is my husband. He is the greatest positive thinker I have ever seen in my life. He always motivates me. So, I would take life as it comes.