I am Happy as a Father ! - Siva Kumar

This stalwart of Tamil cinema has many passions and other than his family, Tamil literature is at the top of the list. “I just happened to start reading Kambar Ramayanam by chance when I was invited as a guest speaker in 2007 for Madurai Kambar Kazhagam. I prepared a short speech and it sparked from there,” reminisces Palanisamy Rakkia Gounder, better known to the world as actor Sivakumar.

When asked about the proudest and happiest moment in recent times, he says, “It was in 2008, in the month of May. I was invited for a talk in Chennai for about an audience of 50 people on Kambar Ramayanam. It was taped and recorded with very poor audio quality. I received a call the next day from a gentleman in Vancouver. He introduced himself as a Canadian national and it was lunch hour for them when he played my recording (the one recorded the previous day) and said about a thousand odd people had thronged to listen to it. It was a proud moment not for Sivakumar but for the glory of Kambar Ramayanam that had spread far and wide” he says his voice choked with pride and emotion. He goes on to describe with precision the minute details of Kambar Ramayanam when Shoorpanakha meets Rama and introduces herself. His description comes with the eloquence that one can achieve only with ardour and dedication, both to the text and dramatics.

The actor is also proud about his sons and he says, “I only dreamt my sons that should become good humans and I am glad they are! My favorite performance by Suriya was Vaaranam Aayiram. He portrayed both the characters, Krishnan and Surya Krishnan fantastically. Karthi has only begun and I really liked him in Paruthiveeran.”

Would he want to see either of them in a remake of any of his films? “Our genres are entirely different,” he laughs. On a more serious note, he adds, “I don’t think they can ever fit the roles I played nor can I do the same. They do what they do well and I am happy as a father about that.”

Talking about his latest project, he explains, “I am currently compiling the character sketches from Mahabharata. I am analysing the characters of Yudhishtira, Bheeshma, Karna and of course, Krishna. This is not for my generation but for youngsters and their progenies. My aim is to make it palpable for my granddaughter Diya’s generation. That is the vision I have for her and her contemporaries.”

On being asked if we shall see him in a movie soon, the veteran says, “I am more than happy doing what I enjoy the most right now – popularising Tamil literature. I make it a point to connect with my grandchildren. For instance, I drop Diya in school. I am experiencing the joys of being a grandfather.”

A professional painter that he is, do we see him hosting an exhibition soon? “I have a wonderful collection but an exhibition will take a long, long time. All my paintings are very academic and moreover, if I hold an exhibition, people would come to see me rather than my paintings,” he laughs and signs off.