Potpourri of tidbits about Tamil cinema - Director R. C. Sakthi

Deviating from the usual path, deeply analyzing before taking decisions, but not deviating from any decision once it is made, looking at things with concern for people and society … director R. C. Sakthi is being looked upon as a thinker, philosopher and polymath by the people in the film industry because of his above – said qualities.

Sakthi was born to the couple Selvam – Lakshmi at Puzhuthikulam, a hamlet near Paramakudi of Ramanathapuram district. His father Selvam was in the police department. Sakthi was not much interested in studies; he evinced great interest in acting since his early years. He started a drama company along with his friends and staged his first play ‘Vaazhkai vaazhvatharkae’ in which he donned the role of the villain. The entire village appreciated the play and Sakthi’s acting and encouraged him to try his luck in cinema. Sakthi arrived at Chennai with dreams of entering cinema. But he could get only minor roles in some amateur drama troupes and he was not happy.

Select excerpts from conversations with him:

Q: You wanted to become an actor, but you are a director today! How did it happen?

A: I joined as an assistant to ‘Villupaattu’ Subbhu Aarumugam of the NSK troupe who was also working as a scriptwriter. And, I was doing roles in stage plays too. At that point, I got the opportunity to work as assistant director for the Tamil film ‘Porsilai’. I became close to Thangappan, the dance master of the film. He told me that he had plans to produce a film titled ‘Annai Velankanni’ and he insisted that I should be part of the project. When we started working, he introduced a handsome young guy as assistant dance master. That guy was none other than Kamal Hasan! Kamal and I became closer because of the fact that my native place was very close to his native place Paramakudi. As years passed by, our friendship grew stronger transcending the age difference. We used to exchange ideas, views and perceptions. We used to argue a lot, enriching our knowledge base.

I took a bold decision to produce a film along with some of my friends. I gave Rs. 11 as advance to Kamal and told him that he would be the hero of my film. The film, titled ‘Unarchigal’ was directed by me. After a long struggle, we were able to release the movie. Though the film was not a commercial success it received huge appreciation and was much talked about.

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