Behind the camera, some day!

Music composers turn actors, filmmakers turn producers and even lyricists are on-screen stars now. Now, wouldn’t it be exciting to see actors turn directors? Though it’s not a new phenomenon, it is the age of multi-tasking — and there’s no reason why some of our leading lights couldn’t be tempted to take on a less glamorous role behind the camera eventually! Kamal Haasan, Bhagyaraj, Prabhu Deva, Sripriya, Revathi, etc are just some of the popular actors-turned-filmmakers of our times — who else among the current crop could be expected to join this list soon?

Jayam Ravi and Vishal have already expressed their desire to direct soon — and who wouldn’t love a movie where a star literally calls the shots? DC takes a look at the current trend... “Successful actor-turned-directors are few and far between,” says Jayam Ravi and adds, “Maybe, five years from now, I will try my hand at direction.” Ravi tells us that he wants to direct either Vijay or Mohan Raja (his brother). “I have a complex script for Vijay and a simple one for Raja. Many say that direction is a tough job — yes, it is. But I feel an actor has to grow and explore all the possibilities of cinema. No harm in trying... irrespective of whether I succeed or not!”

Vijay Sethupathi says that a good actor must always be aware of the bigger picture. “Acting and directing are two separate disciplines that rarely mix. Directing films is easier said than done. The job needs a lot of sensibility, to put many things in place. Starting from the story and sets, to lighting, music, emotions, and judging the overall performances — he should know it all! But if this happens, I’d direct myself, so that less risk is involved,” he says on a lighter note.

Mundasupatti fame Vishnu Vishal says, “Hypothetically, I could say I’d love to direct Vikranth. He’s one of the finest actors around, but has not really been utilised too well. Though Arya and Vishal are equally good friends of mine, I’d look forward to working with Vikranth more. The formers have made blockbusters, which isn’t the case with the latter,” he smiles.

Actor Ashok Selvan says that he actually wanted to be a director in the beginning, but as he loved acting equally, he chose the latter. Assuring us that his directorial aspirations haven’t died yet, he says, “The more I act, the more scared I get! After watching filmmakers like Priyadarshan, I doubt if I can ever succeed as a director. But I’m sure I’ll learn with experience.”  He further adds, “Everytime I sit down to write a script, it turns into an emotional drama. To be on the safer side, I’ll cast myself as lead in my first venture! But, my dream is to direct Kamal Haasan sir some day.”

Meanwhile, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar says that she doesn’t have plans of helming a project anytime soon — but, when asked what her dream directorial debut could be, she replies, “Being a lover of edge-of-the-seat thrillers, I would love to make an intense movie and I would like Vijay Sethupathi to play the lead role as I consider him a fabulous actor!”

There’s this opinion overall, that actors bring a unique understanding of filmmaking to their directorial projects; this is not always the case. It takes many years to perfect the art of filmmaking, a layered process. However, in Bollywood, we have had Aamir Khan wielding the megaphone and even actors like John Abraham and Kangna Ranaut expressed their desire to go behind the camera.
The burning desire among actors to don the director’s hat is increasing, but does this guarantee good movies as well? This is also one of the perspectives that need to be analysed!