Jeyam Ravi

I had been standing in the outer room awaiting his arrival from his home in suburban Chennai. The room is typical of a Production office. Framed photographs on the wall. Pictures of the Gods and hangers on by the dozen. I then run the gauntlet of managers and secretaries and am finally led to an inner room where I meet Raja, the man who in many ways is the creator of this victory called 'Jeyam Ravi'. He is Ravi's brother and has given three hits in a row since his debut as a director. That's the filmi equivalent of a bowler scalping three wickets with his first three balls of his Test career. He tells me to wait as Ravi is on the way. A cup of good coffee later, in strides Jeyam Ravi. I follow him into yet another room.

More photographs on the wall and in the middle of it all, a crayon sketch of our President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. I look at the man in front of me. He is alone on the chair behind a large desk. Stripped of the usual support given to a star by his loyal entourage and fans he looks still calm and composed. His eyes are shiny, but he tells me that is because he is running a slight temperature.

We look at each somewhat warily, not quite sure how we should begin. He is dressed in a silk shirt. A few sequins glint at the seam of the pocket. I began by showing him some of the magazine cover designs on my lap top and then,

Did you get into cinema to be an actor?

"Not really. I did a VISCOM course at Loyola College to get to know the art of cinema making".

And did you get to learn any of that stuff at College?

He looks at me strangely as if to say 'You've got to be kidding'. "Colleges are places where you get to learn how to interact with other adults, experiment with smoking, swigging beer and once in a while get to see the insides of classrooms". (Laughs)

Damn! The guy has a sense of humour.

Was it a co-ed course?
"Not when I was there. It was an, all boy's college. But then I came through a co-ed school".

What about your school days? Did you have an interest in films in those days too?
"Yeah, sure, after all I come from a family that's been into cinema for a long time".

Your dad is better known as Editor Mohan. How did that happen?
"Just like the name suggests, my father was an editor who learnt the ropes without any formal training".

Didn't he ever feel the need to train?
"I guess that's why both my brother and I went through professional courses. He went to DFTI while I went to college".  The difference to those who don't know the difference is that, one is like learning medicine at John Hopkins or at a meat shop. Still it has turned out pretty good people. Maybe the smart kids learnt in spite of the teaching.

"My father switched to producing as soon as he could. For one, there is a lot more money in producing than there is in editing. We are all in it for the money".

Did you watch a lot of films in other languages or was it Tamil all the way?
"Of course I watched a lot of Hollywood productions and even Bollywood films too".
Bollywood films must have been to learn what not to do.
"I like Jack Nicholson. He gets over his balding head and advancing age with some incredible scripting. You accept the man for what he is. He is like our Amitabh, just keeps on getting better". I must agree with him. Our regular heroes distract the audience by playing opposite increasingly younger heroines. Shortly as soon as a toddler gets over a Cerelac ad
they will be snapped up by some ageing star.
"We have very talented directors in South India. I'm not talking about Tamil alone. There are some fantastic guys from the Telugu and the Malayalam industry".

He has a point there because hits like Gilli were remakes from the original in Telugu. "Shankarabharanam came from Telugu; before it went on to rock the country in almost all languages. Chandramukhi came to Tamil from Kannada and Malayalam. Directors like Balu Mahendran and Bharathiraja made thought provoking films years ago. So I don't believe that standards are dipping because directors are incompetent. Audiences are also dumbing down".

Years ago Mr. Balaji who was a director with O&M or JWT made an observation when he
was asked to direct a film that, the demands of financiers and distributor's made it impossible for him to make the film as he envisaged it. For example some distributors from the southern districts insisted on inserting a stick fight even though it was an urban story. Another wanted to have a scene of the heroine having a bath for no real reason other than to titillate. He naturally refused to direct a kichidi. "Many directors today also have fine directorial sense. Bala is one such man. Pithamagan could not have been done but for him. I'll list my brother among the good directors too".

When you left college did you think you would end up doing masala films?
"I wouldn't call all films masala but imagine a dish without any spice. It will be unbearable". Touché.
"Actually I didn't think I would end up doing them, but my brother and father soon showed me the light. I had to learn to stay inside that line that makes a good film also a commercial success".

As one gets better does it get more and more difficult to play the mass hero?

"Well in Dil Chahta Hai, the four protagonists were first shown as college mates. I think Aamir Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye were all in their late twenties or even in their forties. Nobody quite questioned their suitability. They transcended their real age".

Is that's what a good fan following will do? I mean make people forget all the oddities?

"I think some actors, simply because they constantly think and act out of the box, will get away.  Kamal will and does get away with almost anything because his fans expect him to surprise them, while Rajnikant constantly sharpens the same image. Vijay takes Rajnikant
films and contemporizes them. I guess it works differently for each of them".

What about the name Jeyam that gets attached to your name. Doesn't it irk you?

"At first it did, but then I thought why not use it to my advantage. After all Jeyam
means victory. It's better than many other. I would say I just got lucky with my name".

Do you have a fitness routine?
"I do gymnastics. Not just go to a gym. After all when you hit someone they must stay hit or it must appear like you can pull off the stunt. Many lean guys just aren't convincing. That's when the audiences go out for a cigarette or take a leak. It looks too put on".

What about your social life? Does Saturday night turn you into a party werewolf?
"Not at all! I hardly ever go out.

Do you think keeping a girlfriend is a balancing act?
What would you have to do to maintain a good balance between having a girlfriend and having a life beyond escorting her around? I wonder why I keep getting asked that, considering I don't have a steady girl. Maybe because no one believes I don't have a girl friend. I once did have some fans that came all the way from Tirunelveli to see me".

Were they girls?

"No. Just fifteen guys. Guess they don't qualify as girlfriends". You're damn right, they don't.
"But you know this dating business is very rare, no matter that newspapers show pictures of boys and girls standing around in some bar. Most of my friends are male and their friends are male too".

Is it because the girls are a reserved lot?
"You must be kidding. The guys are super conservative but the girls are something else. They are changing like crazy".

Give me some more facts or reasons to support that.
"OK. Guys do not go with a girl unless they are serious about her. Most of the time when a guy goes with a girl more than once it means it will end up in marriage. So why take a chance. That's why we like to hang out with other guys".

Who is 'we'?
"My classmates from school, who else? Our favourite place is Break Point on Spur Tank road. I like to shoot pool with my friends whenever possible".

But why from school? Aren't lasting friends from your college days?

"School friends stay with you for ever. You grew up with them. The girl you studied with changes as you go along. So do you. I had some gorgeous girls in my class and in my school. I remember them to this very day".

If any of Ravi's classmates read this, they are free to call him up and embarrass him.
"So do my classmates of those days. And we did not have money to sneak off to see movies or do any of the stuff that films show".

The fact that young actors like Ravi are recognized, and then mobbed or sometimes hounded, make it difficult to go into a public place.

So what do you do for relaxation? Surely there is a limit to watching DVD's or reading scripts?

"I like to go out but then doing that in Chennai is just not possible. Many of my friends from school and college have shifted to Hyderabad and that's where I have the most fun. As a matter of fact I think Hyderabad is the most happening place. It beats Bangalore by a mile, even the weather".

And your fans, do you keep them happy?
"Yes I do. I have an answering service that directs them to call me on a special number, on every second Saturday of the month. I send them autographed photos, but there are different kinds of fans you know". This sounds interesting.

How would you categorize them?
There are first the general movie fans. They are as fickle as the wind. You have a new release and they will be all over you. But once someone else has a new release, pouf! They are gone. Then you have the staunch fan but they have to be nurtured and you've got to listen to them. Finally, the girls".

They must be the best kind, aren't it not?
"Yes they are, but they are a shifting fan base. They support newcomers. Must be because they are kind hearted".

His newer films like Ennakum Unakkum Something Something which featured him and Trisha and Deepavali with Bhavana have done at the Box Office. For the moment he is nursing a cold and his voice sounds different from his films. The next schedule is in Dubai and he was flying out that night. He hopes he can pull of the scenes in spite of running a temperature. We promise to keep in touch and he sees me to the door