Friday, Dec 11, 2009

Gulf News

Dubai South Indian star Mammootty, who is fast becoming a regular at the Dubai International Film Festival, says he finds artistic cinema more appealing than the mainstream potboilers.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his screening of his sea-drama Kutty Srank (Sailor Of Hearts), the award-winning actor added that such films give him scope to push his artistic boundaries.

"Actually, I have been brought up in artistic cinema. But it so happened that the mainstream cinema adopted me along the way. I have always found more comfort in the so-called sensible, parallel or meaningful cinema. I don't feel the same level of comfort in the mainstream," says Mammootty. Last year at the Dubai International Film Festival, he entertained the audiences with a cinematic gem Ore Kadal.

"I hope to return every year to Dubai with a movie of mine. I am working towards it."

Mammootty, who has acted in over 300 Malayalam films and has ruled the South Indian entertainment industry for nearly three decades, added that roles that tower over his personality is another attraction.

Roles

"I have been in this industry for 28 years now and I am now at a stage where I am looking for roles that don't remind people of my personality. Even roles that make people forget who I am is what I am looking at."

Kutty Srank, which will be screened today is one such project.

Directed by Shaji N. Karun, the film is set in the mid-50s and is about a boat navigator [Mammootty] whose death reveals that he was married to three women. Each of these women is unaware of the other's existence until the point where they come to claim his dead body.

"It's like playing three different roles — because to each of these women I have a distinct personality. Even my dialect is different. It's like a three-in-one role," says Mammootty.

Meanwhile, director Karun was equally confident about him pulling off the role with ease.

"I am confident that this film will be one of his finest performances. He is sure to cherish this film for a long time."

By Manjusha Radhakrishnan

Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.