Sixty-eight-year-old Rajkiran’s first film as hero was Kasthuri Raja’s En Rasavin Manasile (1991). He played Mayandi, a dark character that was a departure from regular hero roles. On release, the film went on to become a superhit, and the industry took note of an actor willing to break stereotypes. Twenty-seven years on, and the actor has completed just 22 films. His latest, Pa Paandi , is special for more reasons than one. He plays a hero again after 22 years, and this time, it’s Kasthuri Raja’s son, Dhanush, directing him.
“The father made me wear a veshti over pattapatti trousers, and now the son has made me wear jeans, jackets and colourful shirts,” says Rajkiran, ecstatic that Dhanush approached him for the role. “He is Rajinikanth’s son-in-law. Dhanush could’ve even cast him. See how well the lines ‘Star um naan da, Sun um naan da, Sun oda vinnum naan da’ would have suited the Superstar? But when he said the script was written with me in mind, I was overwhelmed.”
- Mohideen Abdul Khadar was his real name, and he was known as Asian Khadar in film circles during the 70s
- In 1987, when he launched his production company, Red Sun Art Creations, it was suggested that he change his name, and he decided to go for Kiran (rays of the sun) and prefixed Raj
- Comedian Vadivelu was launched in his film En Rasavin Manasile
- His debut directorial, Aranmanai Kili (1993), was a blockbuster
Same difference
He draws several parallels between father and son. For one, he thinks both are perfectionists and hard workers. “Dhanush never gave me reason to complain. His dialogues, scenes and schedules were all... pucca. In fact, I learnt so much from him. From twitching my eyebrows, rolling my eyes, to learning how much to smile, he knew Power Paandi thoroughly and it helped me become the character.”
Comparing these aspects to his father Kasthuri Raja, Rajkiran recalls, “Even before En Rasavin ... I remember Kasthuri Raja handing me a neatly-bound script with a set of audio cassettes. These cassettes contained every dialogue, narrated and acted out by him in different voice modulations. In fact, it was the dialogues that convinced me to do the film.”
Lucky mascot
Rajkiran turned out to be Raja’s lucky mascot. As for his career choices, Rajkiran says he became an actor reluctantly. As he sees it, he has only acted in roles he was familiar with. “I am a learner and I adapt myself to changing times. That’s what helped me grow as a film distributor, producer, director and now as an actor. That’s also how I was coaxed by Dhanush to dance too.”
But even for this reluctant actor, 22 films in 27 years might seem far too little. Was he being choosy? “I only want to be part of films that have a social message. My role must be strong and author-backed. Pa Paandi focusses on the welfare of senior citizens. And more importantly, at the age of 68, I got to play the hero,” he laughs.
