Actress

An actor does not have anything to do with the business of screening films.

Item song dancers like Silk Smitha and Jayamalini have become irrelevant. The heroines are doing those dances themselves.

Like Ekalaiva, I learnt a lot watching my father from afar. Though I did imitate him initially, I soon changed tack. When people have already watched and enjoyed M. R. Radha on screen, why would they need another?

1971-79 was when I shared the stage with my father. We did more than 500 plays together. He was a hard worker, and learning from him was more than a delight. The way he faced challenges and political pressure was a treat to watch.

An actor does not have anything to do with the business of screening films.

For me, the character I play is most important.

Vulgarity shouldn't pass off as humour.

When a director narrates a character, I find it normal to ask questions about the character's background, mood swings, eccentricities, behaviour... I do this to make my performance relatable. Directors who don't know their characters well find it difficult to answer these questions and, hence, find me annoying.

I've done 290 movies and have lost 200 movies for my outspokenness.

None who has passed through the portals of UAA has been a failure. From the former Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, to Lakshmi, Cho, Nagesh, Moulee, Srikanth, ARS and I, all have been a part of UAA.

'Karnan' ran for 100 days each at three theatres in Chennai alone. That is a record, since no movie runs for more than 100 days. My hope is that I don't ruin the original if it is remade.

There is nothing wrong with Radha Ravi calling women to his office. There's nothing wrong if a man calls women to his office. There is something wrong if a man calls men to his office.

I forayed into films in 1974, and I was done with college in 1975.

Theatre owners cannot threaten actors with defamation cases and take them to court or seek compensation for losses incurred.

In our age of Twitter and smartphones, there is no controlled release of a movie preview. The enigma of movie stars is lost.

There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.

I've been a character artiste for four decades, and in our job, we learn very early that it doesn't pay to be narcissistic.

I don't like it when filmmakers say, 'Just come like this, sir.' I like to experiment with my makeup. I wish more filmmakers let me do that.

Malaysian Tamil movies are amateurish, with songs picked up from our old Tamil movies and inserted in between.

It's a pity I have been stereotyped as a villain.