“It’s the failure of my debut film which made me an actor, which made me want to succeed in the industry. But that doesn’t mean I regret whatever choices I’ve made over the years. No, not even ‘Kaiyethum Doorathu!’”

I thoroughly enjoyed shooting for ‘Velaikkaran,’ and I made a great friend in Sivakarthikeyan during the process. Also, it was wonderful working with director Mohan Raja. I have not seen a director who takes so much effort to get things the best way possible.

I do only what I like. If we do something we don’t like, we will become someone else.

People often ask whether marriage has changed me. I didn’t marry because I had to change.

I don’t know how to be professional. But I always enjoy what I do.

I give my best to each role that I do.

All I believe in is, you need to be yourself.

When I listen to a basic thought, I try to visualise the cinema in it. Sometimes it is dark, sometimes boyish, sometimes amateurish. It is a trial and error method. But the bottom line is that I want to entertain the audience.

I want the audience to watch my films, and that is what I value more than any awards.

The characters I portray are an extension of what I’ve seen, heard, or read, and so what you see in my films are how I understand life.

People know me through my characters. I don’t think they have any idea about the individual that I am. They know I am a director’s son, and I am married to an actress.

I am a person who doesn’t like responsibility of any kind. But I do enjoy what I do.

It doesn’t matter to me how I look on screen. What matters to me is how I connect with the audience.

When I began acting, my biggest fear was whether the audience will appreciate the kind of films I do.

I trust my directors to see me through, for I don’t consider myself as a natural actor – or a good one at that.

I have never been 100% confident that I am right about anything.

My thought process is in Malayalam. So, every time I have to work outside Malayalam, the process is a little stressful. I have to translate my Malayalam thoughts into English and back to Tamil.

It’s really, really, really difficult to have the same occupation as the person you’re with – especially when you’re both actors.

To be an actor you have to have a certain amount of madness in you. That’s why, when people meet you and you seem very together, they are quite surprised – they don’t see you behind closed doors.

Part of the reason of being an actor is you like playing other people’s lives and exploring all the psychologies in that and the emotions.

An actor works with their soul and their thought.

When you’re an actor, you’re a slave to other people’s visions.

An actor who’s a control freak, that doesn’t work. We have to be malleable. We cannot come in and try to control or dominate.

It surely gives you a high to be an international actor with quality work.

I think I’m a much better painter than an actor.