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Sathyaraj still wants to make a difference
By Chitra Prakash, Indo-Asian News Service
Chennai, Feb 1 (IANS) He is no Kamal Haasan or Rajnikant, but that does not make Sathyaraj a second-rung Tamil film star. The "Vedham Pudhidhu" actor's distinctively different appeal puts him in a class of his own.
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The bewigged hero of many a potboiler has made it big in commercial cinema and is now all set to return to more serious films from where his career really took off.
The 53-year-old star, who once won critical acclaim for his roles in offbeat films like "Kadalora Kavithaigal" ("Seaside Poems") and "Vedham Pudhidhu" ("It Is A New Gospel"), is currently acting in "Kurukshetram", being promoted as a film with a difference.
The theme of the film, being directed by veteran Jayabharathy, is a closely guarded secret. It has however been made known that Sathyaraj will be playing a challenging role, unlike any he has done so far.
Through his decades-long career, Sathyaraj has not only done several atypical roles, he has also set new trends.
He was the one, for example, to transform the Tamil film villain of the days of M.N. Nambiar and others of rolling eyes and loud rhetoric. The Kannada film industry 'baddie' has never been quite the same after Sathyaraj demonstrated the audience appeal of soft-spoken, self-deprecatory, but still sadistic villainy.
From the villain, it was a smooth transition for Sathyaraj to roles of negative heroes.
It is difficult, in fact, to think of any Sathyaraj film where he was all white, a do-gooder or a saviour in the mould of M.G. Ramachandran of yore or today's Vijay.
Among the memorable examples are his box-office hits with unusual titles like "Sattam En Kaiyil" ("Law in My Hands"), "Mahanadigan" ("Great Actor"), which was a satire about a film star becoming Tamil Nadu chief minister, and his latest release "Englishkaaran" ("Englishman").
The Coimbatore-born son of a physician, who ran away from home to become an actor after topping in school, has come a long way. His son Siby is also an actor now.
In a recent television interview, he said: "As in Hollywood films, an aging hero should be given central roles suiting his age."
He was alluding, obviously, to films like "Godfather" with Marlon Brando in the lead role.
Whether Sathyaraj will play a similarly suitable role in "Kurukshetram" remains to be seen.
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