8/7/2019 Chips 8 (1)

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When actor-scriptwriter-directorSreenivasan said he would come to my officestudio in Chennai for an interview, one wouldhave thought it was another of those leg-pullingpranks.

However, he did turn up at the appointed hour.He even obliged the security guards instructionto make an entry on the visitor log and one felt

a bit like the Time magazine scribe whenHollywood star George Clooney set theinterview over dinner at the formers home.

Sreenivasan started as an actor in the film,Manimuzhakkam (1977) and over a careerspanning three decades rewrote the code forcomedy and gifted to Malayalam cinema severalmemorable roles. Who can forget Vijayan inNadodikattu or Thalathil Dineshan inVadakkunokki Yanthram?

Curiously though, Sreenivasan started outwith uncertainty.

When I decided to enrol at a film institute, Iconsidered acting beyond me. A six-month stint

convinced me that cinema itself isnt for me, hesays.It is like confronting an oceantrying to

venture into the waters without vessel or oar.With each grain of knowledge gained, you startto realize the vast depth ahead. At that point, Iresolved not to harbour any film ambitions.

But life takes a course of its own. Myexperience has taught me that many unplannedevents can change ones tack.

And so in 1983, Sreenivasan began writing forcinema.

Script-writing was purely incidentaltheresult of prodding by friends and a set ofcompelling circumstances I had not trained forthat or even consciously planned towards it,apart from a modest experience of writing forplays in my native place, he says.

Soon, he was ready for that frontier of film-making which many actors aspire for, but veryfew achievefilm direction.

Sreenivasan feels that the basics of film-making should be to reach the widest possibleaudience. It does not succeed always, ofcourse. Sometimes it does, even reaching out toaudiences not familiar with Malayalam. This is

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Words Alive1 Experience is a hard teacher

because she gives the test first, the

lesson afterwards.VernonSanders Law

2 Pleasure in the job puts perfectionin the work.Aristotle

3 Ability is what youre capable ofdoing. Motivation determines whatyou do. Attitude determines howwell you do itLou Holtz

4 One person with a belief is equal toa force of 99 who have only

interests.John Stuart Mill5 Price is what you pay. Value is

what you get.Warren Buffett6 Think like a man of action, and act

like a man of thought -Henri L.Bergson

7 It is our choices...that show whatwe truly are, far more than our

abilities.J K Rowling8 Discovery consists of seeing what

everybody has seen and thinkingwhat nobody else has thoughtJonathan Swift

9 Once the game is over, the king &the pawn go back in the samebox.Italian Proverb

10 At high tide the fish eat ants; atlow tide the ants eat fish.ThaiProverb

11 Vision without action is a

daydream. Action without vision is anightmare. Japanese Proverb

12 Ask me no questions, Ill tell youno lies.English proverb

13 Every person is king in his ownhome.Albanian proverb

14 Success comes before work only inthe dictionary.Anonymous

15 I have made mistakes, but I havenever made the mistake of claimingthat I never made one.JamesGordon Bennett

16 A leader is a dealer in hope.Napoleon Bonaparte

17 Great leaders dont try to beperfect, they try to be themselves.And thats what makes themgreat.Simon Sinek

18 Management is doing things right;leadership is doing the right

things.Peter Drucker19 You can never cross the ocean

unless you have the courage to losesight of the shore.ChristopherColumbus

20 Always forgive your enemies;nothing annoys them so much.Oscar Wilde

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when we feel that the outcome of afilmmaking venture is nearest to its basicobjective. Today, filmmaking can even aim ata global audience.

Sreenivasan is one of the rare actors whoare clear about the kind of cinema they wouldassociate with.

But he does not necessarily subscribe to the

notion of family-oriented films. Who decideswhat can be seen with the family and whatcannot? Let me put it this waymany of us willnot like some home truths to be portrayed infilms. I cannot agree with the filteredrepresentation of characters to make the filmpalatable for family viewing

But, having said that, I can neither agreewith the other extreme, such as, for instance,a scene where one of the characters is foul-mouthing another in unacceptable language,he says.

In his long and highly entertaining journey,Sreenivasan may have made you laugh out

loud. But, he has also made you thinkaboutthe foibles of life, about human shortcomingsand social paradoxes.

His most satisfying role?It takes a long time after I have acted in a

role to get to a stage where I can objectivelyevaluate the performance. Perhaps the firsttime I felt I had pulled off a character close tosatisfaction was in G AravindansChidambaram, says Sreenivasan.

And, his take-home message?The mind is everything. You become what

you thinkif you have a dream you can makeit happen.

I had not trained forthat or even onsciously

planned towards it,apart from a modest

experience of writingfor plays in mynative place

First TakeJyothi Varma

Sreenivasan rewrote the comedy code for cinemaWill he? Wont he?

The writer with Sreenivasan