How Do You Solve A Puzzle Like Manikandan?

IT HAS been a year since the release of Tamil film Good Night, the family drama with slivers of humour, and a little over three months since Lover, the film that chronicled the dying days of a toxic relationship. Both films struck a chord with audiences. Both had a common factor: Manikandan, the actor, writer and director, who convinced you he was Mohan, the snoring lead of Good Night, or Arun, whom you love to hate in Lover.

Immediately, the rumour mills got buzzing as to how many films he was signing up for, and how he’s hiked his remuneration. Manikandan could only laugh. Because, he went through something similar three years ago, after wowing all as Rasakannu in the searing Jai Bhim, being told he’s finally made it to the big league, and that he’d have a lot of scripts to choose from. The reality was very different — he did not get too many interesting scripts, and his remuneration has not gone up!

Even today, when not shooting, Manikandan can be seen at a Cafe Coffee Day outlet in a Chennai mall, sipping coffee and listening to as many as five scripts a day. All in the hope that he won’t get asked to play another tribal person, a snorer, or a toxic boyfriend.

After Jai Bhim, Manikandan received countless offers to play an underprivileged character. He chose to do Vinayak’s Good Night, which he had heard before Jai Bhim. And after the film worked, the cycle repeated — more roles that called for him to be sleepy on screen. Until Lover happened, and he got even more roles to play a toxic man on screen.

This then is the issue. How does the industry deal with someone like Manikandan? Even as it encourages his acting choices, it seeks to push him into the slot he currently occupies. He gets out of that slot with effort, only to make another impactful film, and get stuck again.

Manikandan is wondering how he can do better projects, and projects that give him something new to do. “I got questioned big time when I signed up for both Good Night and Lover. They said the former will prevent me from being seen as a hero, because my character has what society perceives as a flaw to be laughed at, and the latter will drive away the family audience I have cultivated over the years. In fact, after Lover, I was told I should stick to making films like Good Night. See, I am not someone who has entered the field with a specific plan to reach a particular point. You need to be calm to achieve that. I am deeply anxious about my work and like to pick projects that are from genres I have not worked in before. I wait for something to genuinely excite me. If I do the same thing, I’d get bored. But I know this attitude comes with a certain risk too,” smiles Manikandan.

At the coffee shop, once all the narrations are over, Manikandan brings out his feedback sheet and writes the date, gist of the story, the director’s name and number and finally marks his decision in the ‘Okay or Not’ column.

“I’ve been trying to factor in everything including the market for a film before signing up. I even look at the additional value OTT might bring in. Only some scripts work for the box office now; one must accept that, and choose the best of what comes to you,” says the actor.

Because he’s a writer, Manikandan understands the power of the written word. “The story should be genuine, have soul, and the pre-production should consider all possible factors. And I have to really like the story. If not, I will not be able to convince anyone that I am that character. I will be cheating the audience, and I do not want that. That said, saying no is an art form too, because you are hurting someone with a rejection.”

For someone who was doing a slew of character roles and who got his first credit eight years after he entered the industry, young director Halitha Shameem gave Manikandan a new lease of life with Kaaka Kadi in Sillu Karupatti, the anthology streaming on Netflix. “She redefined me, for myself and others. Till then, I was the guy who stood in the back.”

How do directors who lift Manikandan from a predetermined slot feel about the actor? For Vinayak, who began writing Good Night in 2018, Manikandan was his first choice for Mohan. “He has that rare ability to connect to the audience… in a shot, in a scene. I saw him as Mohan after watching him in Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum, where he utters this casual line: ‘Mazhai vara maadhiri irukku (Looks like it is going to rain)’ to Vijay Sethupathi when they are out to bump someone off. Sometimes, casting should be instinctive. It was with Manikandan — he was Mohan, relatable to us, one among us.”

Vinayak says he wanted Good Night to do well commercially, even though he calls that success an accident, because this win would allow Manikandan to become a hero and create a business of his own. “I see his presence in contemporary Tamil cinema as very important. We can all write different stories, but we need actors of a certain calibre to support and hold that character and take it forward. Mani is that kind of an actor. And, I think he along with some others will take Tamil cinema to the next level when it comes to backing new stories and new directors.”

Manikandan is a brilliant non-verbal communicator, says Prabhuram Vyas, director of Lover, a film that everyone was afraid would take away Manikandan’s family audience from him.

“He has these little nuances he brings to a role that helps the character endear itself to the audience — it can be the newbie cop of Vikram Vedha or the Communist son of Kaala, he ensures you buy the character. Lover was about the unsaid things, the things the character Arun’s resting face conveyed, the inner turmoil and confusion, and I could not think of anyone else.”

To his credit, Manikandan saw the potential of the film and the need for it to be a commercial success and told Prabhu that he should pitch it to other more saleable stars. “But I was fixated; it had to be him,” says the director.

Prabhu says the industry needs someone like Manikandan, because he does not care about his image. And that’s the best way for new stories to make their way to the big screen. “He does not get trapped in an image, and only focuses on his craft. That’s refreshing.”

Those on the commercial side of cinema feel young actors such as Manikandan must choose scripts that do well at the box office too, and create an ecosystem for the kinds of movies they work in. “If producers make money from these films, you will see more of these films getting made. And the market for small, beautiful family audience films will return,” feels Tirupur Subramaniam, president of the Tamil Nadu Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association.

Film reviewers and critics agree that Manikandan experiments, but also feel that he gets stereotyped within a certain type of social set-up, when it comes to his characters. “I think he’s caught in between wanting to be different and not being allowed to do something new. In my opinion, he had toxic traits in both Good Night and Lover. He’s being restricted to play someone from a lower middle class background, someone who does work that’s not high up in the pecking order. Is this also not stereotyping? Why can’t he be given a chance to play someone upmarket? I am reminded of Dhanush, who has played a rich guy in exactly one film so far — 3. Is this because people are unable to look beyond skin tone?” asks Avinash Ramachandran, freelance writer and critic. “It’s like we want him to succeed, but we have fixed the scale. This far and no further,” he adds.

This was what Halitha tried to break both in Sillu Karupatti and Aelay. “He’s very charming on screen, but it was like everyone felt he had to remain a supporting actor. I wanted him as a hero, because I knew he was definitely capable, and that he would charm the audience. It was not easy to convince everyone, but I persisted,” says Halitha.

The director feels that Manikandan’s biggest strength is his sensibility and attitude — he’s willing to put in the work. “He will somehow find a good story, he will somehow figure a way to lend it more beauty, and take the film and run with it. He’s passionate about cinema, yes, but even more particular about working hard. It helps that he’s a wonderful observer of the world and people around him. That and his empathy will help him,” feels Halitha.

Contrary to rumours, Manikandan has signed for just two films, both of which he says are genres he has never done before. “I really try to choose sensibly. And my needs are limited. So I’m never under any pressure to choose a role. If I am free at home, I don’t get to feel I am useless. My mother, even now, does not hesitate to send me out to grind chillies at the local flour mill,” he shares with a laugh. “How can I not stay grounded?”