They say that a prodigy is a child who is ahead of his time. One such child, with no interest in acting, landed his first stage role as the lead female character 28 years ago. “I was so young I didn’t even have a moustache,” Kaali Venkat recalls, “so makeup wasn’t necessary.” Acting was considered a dreaded crime in his family, and he was initially in the play only to sing a folk song. But when his friend struggled to portray the female lead, he stepped in to help. “I showed him how he could better embody the role. The director was so impressed that he recast me as the lead,” he says. Despite his family’s disapproval, he embraced the role wholeheartedly. “Days before the play, my name appeared on the cast list. Afraid of my family’s reaction, I went into hiding for two days. The absence of cell phones made it impossible for them to locate me. To maintain secrecy, rehearsals, costumes, and makeup were conducted discreetly. Even as the play approached, I worried that my parents might disrupt the performance.” The audience recognised his talent, and their praise swayed his parents. As he recalls, “The initial audience was small, but my improvised performance drew in more people. Their overwhelming praise made my parents forget about reprimanding me.” Kaali Venkat’s journey began accidentally, but his passion for acting grew.
Last week, the actor had two releases. He played the lead in Dhonima and a key supporting role in Lubber Pandhu. In Dhonimahis character is a flawed alcoholic who brings nothing but trouble to his family. “I cannot say I prepared for this role because then people would wonder if I visited the bar every day,” says Kaali jokingly when asked about how he prepared to differentiate his performance as an alcoholic from his character in Irudhi Sutra.
The actor, who started his journey as a stage artist, has been in the industry since 2006. “Six years of searching for my place in the film industry had left me exhausted and uncertain. While I couldn’t quit, I struggled to find the drive to continue. The thought of telling my kids I couldn’t make it in cinema was disheartening,” the actor reveals as he discusses the first few years of his career before his first theatrical release, Vain 2010. Before getting these opportunities, Kaali Venkat acted in a few short films in Naalaya Iyakunar that went on to introduce him to many directors, with whom he would subsequently work. “When I was initially offered a role in Naalaya Iyakunar‘s short films, I hesitated, questioning their value for my feature film aspirations,” he reveals, adding that Vijay Sethupathi motivated him to take up the opportunity. “I missed the first season but joined the second, working with directors Ravikumar and Ramkumar on the Mundasupatti short film. The diverse characters and crews in these 15 short films provided invaluable acting experience,” shares the actor.
He also admits that he always gravitates towards comedy as, for him, “Only action sequences and comedy scenes evoke applause from the audience.” However, the actor candidly said that he is not funny and cannot make a person laugh. “I don’t have the habit of writing and improvising jokes, and I never thought I could do comedy. It is the director’s writing that makes my performance laughter-inducing. That’s how people laughed seeing my performances in Mundasupatti and all other films,” he states humbly.
Kaali Venkat works year-round and has supporting roles in too many films to list them out. The actor mentions some upcoming films where he plays lead roles. “I’ve completed a film directed by Karthick Manigandan, featuring Shelly Kishore and Roshini Haripriyan. My upcoming film, Publicis awaiting release, while I’m also busy filming for two more lead roles.” Further, Kaali Venkat has one more exciting role to add to his filmography. “Arun Matheswaran has promised me a role in Maestrobut I am yet to know what it would be,” he reveals.
As he will continue to play lead roles frequently, Kaali Venkat doesn’t have criteria about his character as such, but he has non-negotiables nonetheless. “I’m not interested in roles that require me to perform action sequences, ‘kuthu dance,’ or choreographed dance performances. I prefer content-driven scripts over purely commercial ones. I’m also hesitant to play a conventional hero,” he concludes.
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