Acting is still not on the radar. But never say never: S Anil Kumar

S Anil Kumar , entrepreneur and actor Ajith’s brother, will be making his first film appearance with a cameo in the Hollywood film Coco & Nut . However, he refrains from calling his cameo an ‘acting debut’. “A debut means the first appearance in a film. It signals there’s more to come. But I don’t see it as a debut. At best, it is a cameo. My brother, himself, was an accidental actor. I’d describe myself as an incidental actor,” he begins.

‘ACTING IS NOT MY CALLING. WHO’S TO SAY I’D EVEN BE GOOD AT THIS?’I don’t see myself as an actor. Acting is not my calling. Who’s to say I’d even be good at this? But never say never. You never know who you might run into and what doors might open.

‘IN COCO & NUT, I’M PLAYING MYSELF — A PROFESSIONAL MATCHMAKER’In Coco & Nut , I’m playing myself — a professional matchmaker’. But with Rahsaan (director Rahsaan Noor) understanding more about how I do matchmaking, he maybe tempted to expand my cameo. But I have no expectations. The film is an unconventional take on modern dating and marriage. The project has been years in the making. Filming was to begin in fall last year in Chicago. But there was scheduling conflict. Then I got a call from Rahsaan to be prepared to be in Chicago for a daylong shoot in June.

‘I CAN ATTRIBUTE THIS ACTING OPPORTUNITY TO MY CHICAGO CONNECTION’After growing up in Chennai and graduating from IIT Madras, my dream was to become a research professor at a leading university. I can attribute this acting opportunity to my Chicago connection when a fellow alumnus suggested to Rahsaan that he might benefit from connecting with me.

‘PEOPLE UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF ANONYMITY’There’s a huge price to pay for fame. People underestimate the value of anonymity. I don’t think my brother would wish that he didn’t have the love and respect that he gets from his work. He’s dedicated the last few decades to his craft. I’m careful about not interfering in his business or even being seen as somebody who may be a proxy for him. We are a close-knit family, but we are strong-minded individuals who respect each other’s space.

‘PEOPLE ASK, ‘HERE’S A DIVORCED GUY RUNNING A MATCHMAKING BIZ. WHAT SENSE DOES THAT MAKE?’’I love engaging with people on X and having my mind stretched. There’s a lot of toxicity also, but it’s a question of how well you curate your feed. People ask, ‘Here’s a divorced guy running a matchmaking business. What sense does that make?’ My ex-wife is not my enemy. I’m not her enemy. We weren’t compatible.

‘I get a lot of reflected glory just from being Ajith’s brother’ I’m mindful that if I were not Ajith’s brother, an unknown person’s upcoming cameo wouldn’t get the attention that it has been getting. Given I’m connected to a celebrated actor, who has earned a lot of goodwill, I get a lot of reflected glory just from being his brother. People want to take selfies with me. And I’m able to understand that, if you admire a star so much, even if you may not get a picture with the star, you want to at least get a picture with a satellite.



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