Actor Kishore
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
Conversations rarely get as candid as the one I had recently with actor Kishore who, ironically, is not particularly known for giving too many interviews. “Promotions have become an important aspect nowadays so a little compromise goes a long way,” says a laughing Kishore who made his debut with the Kannada film Kanti back in 2004. Ask him about his 20 years in the film industry and he says it has been, “good and very satisfactory”.
Apart from working in all the South Indian languages and Hindi, Kishore has also raked up a considerable number of web series to his filmography with his latest being the Tamil series Parachute. In the Disney+Hotstar series, the actor plays a strict father whose kids go missing. “It’s a story that any father can relate to. It reminded me of the fights I used to have with mine. If they had not turned this story into a series, I would have done it at some point as it’s a story that must be told. It will make people introspect on several topics. We are not only bringing up kids but the future society as well,” says Kishore. “Parenting has become a huge challenge today because we don’t know how to raise kids but it’s a continuous process that we enjoy doing.”
Drawing a comparison to his personal life, Kishore says, “My son knows more than me even though it’s not necessary that they know the right things. There are times when we have to tell them that we are more experienced with regard to a particular scenario and that’s why they should take up our advice. They might not understand it now but as they mature, they will.”
Actor Kishore in a still from ‘Parachute’
| Photo Credit:
@disneyplusHSTam/YouTube
Kishore is known for his raw and rugged on-screen persona which has landed him a slew of cop and gangster roles. But the actor has also starred in a handful of films that either dealt with sensitive, emotional subjects such as Haridas and My Son Is Gayor those in which he played a simple, at times even vulnerable man, like his role in Modern Love Chennai. Ask him how he processes a character that is relatable to him and Kishore says, “I’m a lazy actor (laughs) and I don’t have any process. I read what’s given to me and ask in detail about the story and character to know what’s expected from me. Observations add to the characteristics when it comes to playing a cop or a gangster. Life experiences come into play when I am doing a character similar to the one in Modern Love.”
The actor says he does not have a particular method to jump from one character to another given how diametrically opposite they can sometimes be. “I don’t take my roles very seriously. Unless it’s for content like Parachute, Modern Love or Viduthalai Part 2where you have to be more involved, playing a cop or a gangster is relatively easier. You don’t have to put in more effort to be conscious of whether you are doing the right thing at the right time. But it’s challenging because such roles tend to get repetitive. Somehow, the way they define the character differs and that helps.”
Kishore is not particularly known for his over-the-top acting and he says, “ Unless something excites me I don’t think I can do extra and even if it does so, not doing extra feels like the way to do it.” Citing an example from his recent media interaction for his Netflix series She, Kishore says, “I was with a couple of cast members with a theatrical background and they had a lot to talk about when asked regarding their acting process and I was wondering what to say because I don’t have anything of that sort. Then I told them I’m also a farmer who does natural farming in which we do nothing; we just sit, observe and let things happen. Similarly, with films, I feel it’s better to take in what’s given to us by the makers and it organically draws a picture of how to take it ahead.”
But what does he do when he is not given much material to work with? “I do nothing and look forward to films from makers like Vetrimaaran who create strong characters. They all have their own arcs and backstories, and that’s why his films are long. You should not be limiting such makers with their vision and let them take five-six hour-long films. It will be a treat to watch his films in full and that’s when everything will be clearly defined, right from the characters to the ideology,” says Kishore. “For example, Vada Chennai explored life within a jail, the happenings and how it’s an ecosystem. When it had to be reduced to the runtime of a regular film, we missed out a lot. Amidst doing films which don’t provide me complete satisfaction, doing films with makers like him adds to what you consider meaningful films. Of course, there’s the comfort factor but there is also the satisfaction of doing a film that believes in you.”
Actor Kishore in a still from ‘Parachute’
| Photo Credit:
@disneyplusHSTam/YouTube
When asked if his versatility across languages makes it easy for makers, Kishore says, “They believe so and I’m tagging along as long as I get more work (laughs). It comes down to how well a story is told and irrespective of who stars in a film, a good film will always work. Maybe for the initial pull recognisable faces will come in handy.” Speaking of commercial films the actor says, “They have their job cut out; they give us an audience. A good, honest film will only be successful if the audience watches it. I feel commercial films keep the theatre-going audience active.”
As someone who has worked in multiple languages even before the advent of OTT and the pan-India films trend, Kishore says that the first-mover advantage does not exist anymore. “It was there initially but now the boundaries have merged and dissolved which is good in a way. I don’t know what to call pan-Indian films. India is a diverse country; The more native they are, the more interesting they become. The films rooted in culture will reach everywhere and they don’t need to become pan-India,” says Kishore who calls himself lucky when I point out how he has worked in all the major OTT platforms’ originals.
“OTT was a good medium for small filmmakers earlier. Commercial cinema hesitated to come to OTT as it considered the platform a small screen medium before the pandemic. But after theatre closures because of the pandemic, OTT is filled with mainstream, commercial cinema. Small filmmakers don’t have a space anymore now,” says Kishore. “Actors though are benefitting from this as content is being generated continuously. But I’m not sure if the world of cinema benefits from it. Thankfully censorship is still not in place here and there’s little space to voice out. Corporates will soon decide what we have to watch. It’s not there yet but slowly getting to such a state. It’s going to get tougher.”
Parachute is currently streaming on Disney+Hotstar
Published – December 04, 2024 02:11 pm IST
