'My studio is akin to a kitchen'

Sudeep calls himself a subtle actor. No wonder he thinks that his talent is not being exploited enough in filmdom where brashness and loudness masquerade as histrionic.

But he’s not the one to let the actor in him be cowed down by the tried and tested formulae of the film land, Sudeep has gambled in every film of his over the past 13 years: Exploring, experimenting and exhausting every nuance of the characters he has essayed.
Known to design his roles, he adds a tinge of glamour here and a touch of weirdness there to provide the subtle actor in him a wider canvas. “It is mannerisms that maketh a man,” Sudeep told Metrolife.

Sudeep is understandably joyful as his Rann — A News Story from the assembly line of Ram Gopal Varma’s factory is set to release soon. “My character is nothing less than powerful. And this is one role that I am really proud of,” says Sudeep about his second foray into Bollywood, after Phoonk.

In Rann, he plays the role of a common man, who unknowingly, gets entangled in a string of controversies with big business establishments. The story unfolds with this young, intelligent man very cleverly attempting to probe the issue and dig out the actual story. Phoonk 2 is also on cards and in another RGV production called 1993, Sudeep is slated to play the lead.

But with so many Bollywood releases lined up, how are his Sandalwood plans faring? Sudeep has pinned great hopes on his next directorial venture Just Math Mathanalli which he says is built around conversations and calls it a love story sans any complication. He doesn’t want to give off much of the story. And his next Kichha Huccha could be compared to another Sathya.

Where does he think the South Indian film industry lies vis-a-vis Bollywood? “There’s good talent in the South but the Bollywood image of the idli sambar tag of the Southern film world still remains,” Sudeep regrets and adds that while acting in South is all about being loud and colourful, what clicks up North is subtlety and loads of attitude.”
Talking particularly about Sandalwood, he thinks the Kannada film industry has neither lost out nor has it made great strides. Regretting that offbeat films have not worked out well in Kannada, he says: “We have to entertain people and give them what they want because the audience has been tuned to accept such movies.”

Undeterred by criticism that his films are mostly remakes, Sudeep points out that they are far from cut, copy and paste jobs. “I am here to entertain and as long as I succeed in that I don’t think remakes should be much of a problem,” he asserts.

Sudeep believes there’s no dearth of good scripts. But the sad part is that there are no takers for such scripts. “The producers are only concerned about raking in profits. If the film doesn’t do well, then there are producers who ask you to act for free in another film,” says Sudeep. 

Over the years, Sudeep’s love for cinema has acquired a holistic touch. He now owns a studio — complete with dubbing, recording, shooting and even screening facilities. He has dedicated a considerably large space in his house to a mini theatre and studio and called it kicch ‘n’.

“My studio is akin to a kitchen where everything gets cooked and prepared,” the quintessentially cinema man says.