Dragon actor Pradeep Ranganathan Interview: The swag in mass entertainers is hard to pull off, and that is harder than doing… | EXCLUSIVE

Pradeep Ranganathan has always been that one filmmaker and actor who knows just what is the pulse of his audience. When his Love Today hit theatres, not only did it become a box office success, but also a resonation with audience of today’s times. Now, Pradeep is back with yet another flick, Dragon, in which he will star as the main lead in his friend’s Ashwath Marimuthu’s directorial.

Coming back after the success of Love Today, added with Dragon, whose trailer is majorly set in a campus and emits a youthful vibe, Pradeep says, “Had Love Today been just a youth centred film, I don’t think it would have collected what it collected. More of family audience came to theatres to watch the film, they saw their respective children in the film, and liked what the film had to say. That is how Dragon will also be. The trailer might give you a youthful vibe, but it is actually a family drama. Dragon is not a college film and we have not revealed the story in the trailer cut. There is an interesting knot that comes in the interval, making it a family entertainer.”

Dragon star Pradeep Ranganathan Interview

Pradeep’s portfolio might be short, but has interesting mix of roles he had juggled. While he directed Ravi Mohan-starrer Comali, he wrote, helmed and starred in Love Today, and now featured in Dragon only in the capacity of an actor.

“I don’t think I can ever give up one for the other. But having said that, I want to concentrate on acting. That does not mean I prefer acting over direction. I love both the crafts; I edit my short films and I love that too. I have passion for all the departments,” he adds.

Also read: Love Today remake: As Loveyapa gears up for release, here's what made Pradeep Ranganathan film a must-watch

For Dragon, Pradeep paired up with his long-time friend and director Aswath Marimuthu. Pradeep, who has worked in commercial entertainers so far, says. “Sometimes, a hero would just walk and theatres would go bonkers. It is not easy for theatres to erupt for any actor to do that. It is only because those stars have a pulling capacity, and the margin of error is less. They know just the amount of style, expressions, and acting that is needed to captivate the audience. The precision you bring there is tougher than emoting on other expressions. The swag in mass entertainers is hard to pull off, and I think that is harder than subtle acting.”

He also mentions that working with someone like Ashwath means he has someone by his side to give constant feedback on cracking the perfect metre needed for commercial entertainers. And when it’s a friend he had known for over a decade, Pradeep says it comes from the place of care and authenticity. “I can blindly follow him, and he more like a brother to me,” Pradeep says.

Also read: Dragon trailer OUT: Pradeep Ranganathan is back with yet another youngster love story but the twist now is… 

‘Films are an entertainment medium’

Pradeep feels that audience are matured enough to understand that characters and how they behave are strictly restricted to the story and the fictional setting. “If a character dumps garbage on street, it is just the character. If a hero, picks it up and puts in the bin, we don’t see that happening. If you see action films were there is so much violence, it is not replicated offscreen. Everyone is aware that stories are just stories and they just enjoy.”

From Dragon, Pradeep’s major takeaway is lessons of acting and how to trust a director. “For people, the major takeaway will about success and failure, the director has given his answer. In life, we have not figured what is the right answer, but each of us have a perspective. I found the director’s perspective in this film sweet.”

Speaking about his next film LIK, with director Vignesh Shivan, Pradeep says that he had always wanted to do a futuristic film always. “It is based in future, and how love would be times forward. It is a commercial package, and Vignesh Shivan is a whacky writer. It is very different to learn his perspective and love his aesthetics. It will release sometime in summer this year and I am looking forward,” Pradeep signs off.

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