Gautham Karthik on ‘Pathu Thala,’ ‘August 16, 1947,’ and what actors should hold onto
(Originally published in The Hindu on March 21, 2023)
Ten years ago, actor Gautham Karthik debuted in Mani Ratnam’s Kadal. Life went on, he signed back-to-back films, went on long rides on his Harley Davidson, and in his free time, jammed with a city band called Incarcerated. Cut to 2023, and the newly-married Gautham has back-to-back releases with life now “a bit hectic.” But he has no complaints. “I have wanted to keep running and working for a long time. I feel like everything’s going well now,” he says.
Between 2017 and 2019, Gautham starred in nine films, but as was the case for everyone, the pandemic slowed things down. The pandemic was an opportunity to focus more internally, says the actor. “I looked back at my journey; I have had both hits and flops, and I started analysing what worked, what didn’t, what I need to work on, what I should start avoiding, and so on.”
Gautham has three releases coming up — Pathu Thala, co-starring Silambarasan TR (releasing on March 3), NS Ponkumar’s August 16, 1947 (April 7), and debutant director Dhakshinamoorthy Ramar’s Criminal, which is in post-production. August 16, 1947 is a period film that narrates the tale of how a village in Tamil Nadu, during Indian independence, fought back the colonisers. It is Gautham’s character who anchors the fight. “He is not a freedom fighter. He is more of a person who is inspired through love to overcome his fear, and in doing so, inspires the village,” says Gautham, without revealing much of the plot.
A lot has been spoken about the importance of set design, make-up, and costumes to convey a period film authentically to the audience. But do they help the actor in their performance? “Some actors can perform without any of these and some only with them.I
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