Theatre: The ticket to Kollywood

Many theatre artistes are being seen in crucial roles in films, of late. Despite the fact that they have many projects in their kitty, these artistes seem to have balanced the art of managing both film and theatre with equal élan. Is theatre the new ticket to Kollywood? Does their acting background help them perform better than a newbie? We speak to a few actors who started their career in theatre...

Pooja Devariya

The Iraivi actress says, “Many people use their background in theatre to make their entry into films. But my break into the film industry happened by chance. People must understand that there is a lot of difference between theatre and films. I am instinctive actress... while I use some of the learning that I gained from theatre workshops, acting wise… it totally depends on the character.”

Shanthakumar

Theatre artiste Shanthakumar is currently playing a pivotal role in Manikandan’s Aandavan Kattalai. He says, “I have always wanted to get into films. So, I thought theatre would be the best platform to get an opportunity in films, and it worked out for me. I got my debut film only because of my play. Getting a break in the film industry can be a long, time-consuming process. A background in theatre can help one learn the nuances of acting and at the same time is a stepping stone for getting a break in films.”

Mime Gopi

Mime Gopi is currently busy with a series of projects, including Vijay 60. He owes all his film opportunities to his 22 years of theatre experience. He says, “Ranjith offered me Madras after watching my performance in a street play. So, whatever I am now is only because of my theatre background. Ever since my college days, I have been acting in plays and I have done close to 10,000 stage plays.”

Mathivanan Rajendran
Mathivanan Rajendran, who played one of the leads in Sawaari, says, “The culture of rehearsing a scene before the shoot comes from theatre. We follow a certain discipline when it comes to rehearsals. So even for my roles in films, I ensure that I rehearse before going for the actual take. When an actor like Hugh Jackman can spend time rehearsing for his films, so can we! It is also important not to overact in films. You need to unlearn certain things that you learnt in theatre to be a good film actor.”

TM Karthik

Actor TM Karthik, who gave an impressive performance in the recent films like Sawaari, Dhilluku Dhuddu, Indru Netru Naalai and much more, has been acting in English theatre plays for close to 23 years. Karthik says that theatre is one of the platforms for the youngsters to get into films of late, but that was not the case back in his day.

He explains, “When I started off in theatre, not many film directors would attend English plays. Though theatre was a background for us, many of us didn’t get an opportunity in films. These days, however, many young assistant directors are regulars at plays, and they pick actors from here. The biggest plus point of being a theatre artiste is we know how to get into the skin of a character.”