My career taught me a lot: Sriimurali

The actor recollects his journey through a series of films that didn’t fare well at the box office, and how ‘Ugramm’ saved the day

I tasted success when I was quite young with my first film ‘Chandra Chakori’. It ran in the theatres for almost two years, and earned me a state award. But, I had a downfall soon after.

The next seven years of my career weren’t easy. I wasn’t sure about what would happen next. But, I tried to stay positive and focused. I told myself that I was here to achieve something and that I would not relax until I did.

I didn’t sit idle and worked in a movie every year. I worked in 14 films that did not fare well at the box office. I don’t want to blame anyone for what happened; it was just my destiny. Everyone has to go through a bad journey and maybe that was mine. When every film would release, I would hope that it would work. I did not know what I was doing wrong, because I was working hard. My comeback was with Prashanth Neel’s directorial ‘Ugramm’. We shot the film for almost five years and it was an intense process.

Once ‘Ugramm’ released, it set a standard. All the credit goes to Prashanth, who believed in me. I remember that he called me a ‘superstar’ when he saw the first copy of the film. I thought he was pulling my leg. He is my brother-in-law, but it was his talent that convinced me. I was tired of how my career had been shaping and I just followed his directions.

The film demanded a lot from me. I had to look a certain way for almost four years. In the end, the role and the movie turned out to be really special for me. My character was called Agastya, which is my son’s name. It was Vidya, my wife, who named our son. Prashanth named the film’s character after him.

After the film, things changed for the better. This phase of my life taught me a lot. I started taking more time to work on films. All of us have a maximum of 36,500 days
to live, out of which we all have already lost many thousands. I had already missed out on seven years of my career and didn’t want to lose out on more.

Soon, ‘Rathavara’ (2015), Mufti (2017) and ‘Bharaate’ (2019) followed. I chose more intense scripts, which reflected in my work. Each film pushed me out of my comfort zone.

For ‘Bharaate’, I played an elderly character and had to stay in that look for hours together while shooting in Rajasthan. I performed many risky action scenes for ‘Mufti’. I am not comfortable romancing anyone on screen but I explored such parts too.

I stick to my director, his vision and the team. I don’t overdo things and work with conviction.

I have started ‘Madagaja’ now, which will have romance and action in it. This will be a different experience for the audience.

I have grown a lot. But, I still wake up worried on the day of my film’s release. Recently, when ‘Bharaate’ released, I was trembling like a school child whose exam results are about to be published.

My career has taught me a lot; I have learnt to stay grounded. My family — Vidya and the children — always remind me that I am Sriimurali. I have seen ups and downs, and it has taught me that nothing else matters. Always focus on doing good.”

Sriimurali