With his recent release – Rangoon – being declared successful, actor Gautham Karthik decided to meet the press yesterday. “I have a hit film and everyone’s appreciating me. So it’s good to meet you all with such positivity,” he began. He answered questions about his recent release, his father and grandfather, and his alleged romance, with equal gusto.
Gautham revealed that he’s learnt a lot with around ten films to his credit. “I always thought an actor’s job was to act in front of the camera and that’s it. But there’s so much work that surrounds it and it’s important to know every aspect of it,” he said.
While his father, Karthik, may have had a prolific career as an actor in the ’80s and ’90s, Gautham said he tries to be as different as possible. “I wouldn’t do a remake of Agni Natchathiram if it had the same story as that of my father’s film. That’s his trophy and I wouldn’t want to risk doing a bad job of what belongs to my father.” He also asserted that he wouldn’t be venturing into politics. Ever.
Calling his debut film, Kadal “special”, the 27-year-old actor declared that Rangoon is also “equally special” because it turned out to be pretty successful. “The effort is measured in meters and the director understands it. The director correctly plans it and accordingly, I [would] feel comfortable enough to act. My Rangoon director understood that meter.”
Gautham was all praises for new directors. “I don’t think it’s wrong to work with new directors. It’s important to know their background and the story they bring,” he said.
While Rangoon managed to score brownie points with critics (and audience), a lot was said about Gautham’s make-up. Many had qualms about the way his skin colour was portrayed. Speaking to Silverscreen about this, Gautham said he would’ve loved to put in more effort towards getting the look instead of resorting to make-up.
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“We worked with limitations. If I had time to naturally tan, that would’ve been different. Because in Kadal, that’s exactly what I did. I put oil and roasted in the sun. So whatever best we could do with make-up, we did.”
But all that aside, the burning question that the press wanted Gautham to address was about the actor’s love-life. “I’m not in a relationship with Priya Anand,” Gautham said, “I have known her, her family for years now. Even before I did Kadal. I grew up in a co-ed environment, and I know people will talk if I’m seen at a coffee shop with a friend who’s a girl…”
Our review of Rangoon: Tight, Pacy Film Let Down By Bad Make-Up.