Santhana Bharathi
Encyclopedia
Santhana Bharathi is a popular Tamil language
film celebrity in Kollywood
, the Tamil film industry
in Chennai
, Tamil Nadu
, India
. He has directed several films such as Guna
and the National Film Award winner, Mahanadhi
. He acts and has played supporting roles in films such as Dasavatharam
, and Varalaru
.
Kavignar Kannadasan's son, Radha Ravi, Junior Balayya...all these people were either my classmates in school or college. After my father's sudden demise, I thought why not get into movies, where I know people. I met Kavignar Kannadasan; he introduced me to Director Sridhar. That's how I got into this field. Also, when I was young, wherever I went, they used to say, this is Mr Santhanam's son. That really inspired me. I wanted to be known like that in future. I wanted people to know who I am. I did not want to be just one among the crowd.
I entered the industry with the intention of becoming a director. I started out as an assistant director to Sridhar with the recommendation of Kannadasan, and worked first in the film `O Manju'. Then, when director Sridhar was doing `Meenava Nanban', P. Vasu joined our unit.
We became good friends. We used to be seen together all the time. So, when we got an opportunity to direct `Panner Pushpangal' we did it together. That was the first time we saw our name together on the screen as Bharathi Vasu. Today we are good friends and meet as often as possible.
`En Uyir Kannamma' was my first film as an actor under director-actor Siva Chandran. I told him that I am not good at delivering dialogues. But, he compelled me to act. Then, in `Michael Madana Kama Rajan' I recited more dialogues. I remember having a lot of apprehensions about it. Both actor Kamal Haasan and the director, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, put me at ease. In fact, Kamal Haasan helped me perform to the satisfaction of the director. But, today I can deliver long dialogues without any problems.
Along with P. Vasu I directed five films, and on my own I did eight films. I have acted in about 70 films. As far as I am concerned, no role is big or small...
When it comes to direction, my bests are `Panneer Pushpangal', `Guna', `Mahanadhi', and `Chinna Mappilai'. People often associate me with the film `Karagaatakaran'. As for acting, I like `Michael Madana Kama Rajan'. Another favourite is `Anbe Sivam'. The latest is `Varalaru', directed by K.S. Ravi Kumar. I have also acted in half-a-dozen serials.
I am happy for two things. I was the person who introduced Sathyaraj as a hero in `Kadamai Kanniyam Kattuppadu'. I received the best regional film award from the Central Government for `Mahanadhi'.
When it comes to movies, he gets totally involved with his character. Whether he has to put on weight, shed weight, go bald, grow a beard or change his complexion he would do it. For Guna, he dieted and lost a lot of weight and throughout the movie we see a darker version of him. For the last scene in Guna where we show him falling down a steep slope, we could have used a rubber dummy, but he insisted that the dummy should look exactly like himself and we moulded a dummy...we went about moulding the dummy part by part, first the hand, then the head, then the neck and so on. For that, he had to sit through for very long hours. You need a lot of patience for all that. He's very helpful and cooperative when it comes to that. That's why Indian was such a great success. Once you put on the make-up, you can't even eat till it's taken off. He wouldn't mind all that, because of the total involvement that he has.
Lots of people ask me...how come he fights with all other directors but not with you. Well the thing is, any product is a result of teamwork. If somebody gives a good suggestion, there is nothing wrong in taking it. Actors like Kamal Haasan will surely bring their inputs to the character and the movie. For them the movie is more important than anything else. You have to take it as teamwork rather than personally, otherwise nothing will get done.
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
film celebrity in Kollywood
Kollywood
Kollywood is a word referring two different movie industries in India and Nepal, derived from the word Hollywood and their local movie centers.* Tamil cinema, the Tamil language film industry based on Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu,...
, the Tamil film industry
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He has directed several films such as Guna
Guna (film)
Guna is a 1991 Tamil drama film starring Kamal Haasan, Roshini, Rekha, S. P. Balasubramaniam, Girish Karnad, Ajay Rathnam, Janagaraj, and Sharat Saxena. It was dubbed into Telugu as Guna...
and the National Film Award winner, Mahanadhi
Mahanadi (film)
Mahanadi is a 1994 Tamil Indian film featuring Kamal Hassan, Sukanya, and Cochin Haneefa. It portrays the grief of a humble village man, who sees his family, property being ruined.It also depicts the growing problem of "Child Sex workers", where young girls are targeted and turned into...
. He acts and has played supporting roles in films such as Dasavatharam
Dasavatharam
Dasavathaaram is a 2008 Tamil science fiction disaster film co-written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. Kamal Haasan, who wrote the screenplay and story of the film, stars in ten distinct roles, including the lead character. Asin Thottumkal appears in a dual role and Mallika Sherawat plays a...
, and Varalaru
Varalaru
Varalaru is a monthly web magazine dedicated to South Indian History. With more than , this magazine strives to bring lesser known facts about various temples of South India which are rich in inscriptions and sculptures....
.
Career
Santhana Bharathi started his film career as a director and then switched to acting. He is now a full time actor. Both as director and actor he made a mark for himself.Before Entering films
Basically I come from a movie background. My father, M.R. Santhanam, had acted in the Boys Company. He later became a producer, and made some of Sivaji Ganesan's best films. In fact, he was called the `shadow of Sivaji' as they were seen together often. One of the popular films he produced was `Pasamalar' in which Sivaji Ganesan and Savithri acted. He later produced `Annai Illam', `Paaladai' and `Anbalippu'.Kavignar Kannadasan's son, Radha Ravi, Junior Balayya...all these people were either my classmates in school or college. After my father's sudden demise, I thought why not get into movies, where I know people. I met Kavignar Kannadasan; he introduced me to Director Sridhar. That's how I got into this field. Also, when I was young, wherever I went, they used to say, this is Mr Santhanam's son. That really inspired me. I wanted to be known like that in future. I wanted people to know who I am. I did not want to be just one among the crowd.
Entering into films
I remember my first day of shooting for `Panneer Pushpangal' in Ootacamund. The lead pair was Suresh and Santhi Krishna. The film was a hit, and it gave me and director P. Vasu a good name.I entered the industry with the intention of becoming a director. I started out as an assistant director to Sridhar with the recommendation of Kannadasan, and worked first in the film `O Manju'. Then, when director Sridhar was doing `Meenava Nanban', P. Vasu joined our unit.
We became good friends. We used to be seen together all the time. So, when we got an opportunity to direct `Panner Pushpangal' we did it together. That was the first time we saw our name together on the screen as Bharathi Vasu. Today we are good friends and meet as often as possible.
`En Uyir Kannamma' was my first film as an actor under director-actor Siva Chandran. I told him that I am not good at delivering dialogues. But, he compelled me to act. Then, in `Michael Madana Kama Rajan' I recited more dialogues. I remember having a lot of apprehensions about it. Both actor Kamal Haasan and the director, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, put me at ease. In fact, Kamal Haasan helped me perform to the satisfaction of the director. But, today I can deliver long dialogues without any problems.
Along with P. Vasu I directed five films, and on my own I did eight films. I have acted in about 70 films. As far as I am concerned, no role is big or small...
When it comes to direction, my bests are `Panneer Pushpangal', `Guna', `Mahanadhi', and `Chinna Mappilai'. People often associate me with the film `Karagaatakaran'. As for acting, I like `Michael Madana Kama Rajan'. Another favourite is `Anbe Sivam'. The latest is `Varalaru', directed by K.S. Ravi Kumar. I have also acted in half-a-dozen serials.
I am happy for two things. I was the person who introduced Sathyaraj as a hero in `Kadamai Kanniyam Kattuppadu'. I received the best regional film award from the Central Government for `Mahanadhi'.
Experience with Kamal Haasan
If I have to talk about Kamal Haasan, I would say he's an encyclopaedia. He's a self-made person. I have known him from my school days, in fact I have seen the way he has grown, from the time he first came into films. He would take the initiative to learn on his own by reading a lot of books, talking to people and by watching movies. If he speaks about something it wouldn't be out of the hat, his arguments are supported by a lot of reading and learning. Even though he did not have much of a formal education, his knowledge is immmense.When it comes to movies, he gets totally involved with his character. Whether he has to put on weight, shed weight, go bald, grow a beard or change his complexion he would do it. For Guna, he dieted and lost a lot of weight and throughout the movie we see a darker version of him. For the last scene in Guna where we show him falling down a steep slope, we could have used a rubber dummy, but he insisted that the dummy should look exactly like himself and we moulded a dummy...we went about moulding the dummy part by part, first the hand, then the head, then the neck and so on. For that, he had to sit through for very long hours. You need a lot of patience for all that. He's very helpful and cooperative when it comes to that. That's why Indian was such a great success. Once you put on the make-up, you can't even eat till it's taken off. He wouldn't mind all that, because of the total involvement that he has.
Lots of people ask me...how come he fights with all other directors but not with you. Well the thing is, any product is a result of teamwork. If somebody gives a good suggestion, there is nothing wrong in taking it. Actors like Kamal Haasan will surely bring their inputs to the character and the movie. For them the movie is more important than anything else. You have to take it as teamwork rather than personally, otherwise nothing will get done.
As actor
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