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

As an actor, you create a character from your understanding of what you have heard and your observations. Eventually, every film is an extension of the images that I have seen or what I have heard or read somewhere.

I try to choose characters that don’t remind the audience of my previous roles. I make a conscious effort for that.

I am a bad boy. I don’t come across clearly to a lot of people, so I am bad for them.

I will happily sit at home and take care of the house.

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 often see only my mistakes. I always feel I could have done better. Every artist goes through it.

I’m not a person who goes out of my way to change my look. I like my characters to look as natural as possible.

I wasn’t really sure about the kind of films I wanted to be a part of. That’s when I saw ‘Aaranya Kaandam.’ I was stunned; it was such a stylish film.

I want my films to do the talking. I feel if people have to understand me better, I should do more good films. I just want them to know me through my films.

I am not affected or carried away by success or failure.

I love the forest. It is the place where you hear yourself better.

Mistakes happen, and then you try to overcome those. I like that process.

I’ve done only things I’ve liked, and I’m happy that others have liked them, too. I hope it keeps going that way. But l would never want to do films which please just one set of audience; they should connect with everyone.

Mohan Raja is an interesting filmmaker. He is constantly, if I may use the word, contradicting himself. He explains a scene, and then he will try to break that and rebuild it. That, to me, is filmmaking. Every scene is constructed after a lot of discussions.

When I am with my friends, I am comfortable.

The closest encounter I had with films in my childhood was sitting on the lap of my father at a shooting set, and he would say ‘rain,’ and it started raining, and then he would say ‘song,’ and people started dancing. I thought I was sitting on God’s lap.

You loved me gray sweatpants and I loved you drunk on stouts and I am velveeta mac and cheese.

When you find the courage to love your own body, you give people who look like you the permission to do the same.

I designed my whole image. That was all me. I just bought some regular clothes, threw a medallion around my neck, and that was it. The next thing I know, that’s the look.

While other creators make a big show of their art Mani Sir makes it look as though anyone can do what he does.

To make us love our country, our country ought to be lovely.

People have this misconception that I’m going to beat them up when I meet them. But it’s like… no. Just ’cause I stand up for myself, and I’m honest, that doesn’t mean I’m going to beat people up all the time.

How you look is your statement, because it’s a claiming of yourself.

Deep within, I still exist; a brighter, happy me. Just look beyond my outer casing.