Q. How do you feel now with Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha being re-released?
I am excited and looking forward to watching the film in 4K quality, and also gauge the people’s reactions to it.
Q. You didn’t appear much in films as an adult actor. Was it a conscious choice?
It was kind of an unfortunate situation, where my dad passed away and I could no longer continue acting. He used to accompany me to the sets and guide me through the process.
He passed away when I was in Class X. Everything stopped with that. Later, as I grew up, I did get offers, even lead roles. But my father was no longer there to take me around or guide me. Also, by then, my focus was on studies.
Shortly after, I got married and got busy with my family. Working in films requires total commitment of time, and hence it would have been difficult for me. I also established a career as a lawyer, which was a childhood dream. So, I like to believe it is my destiny. I now practise fulltime in Kozhikode.
Q. Do you see any changes in the manner child actors are treated? Especially considering talks about child rights in cinema…
I am not aware of the current situation. In my time, it was awesome. We were treated almost on par with the superstars such as Mammootty and Mohanlal. Be it in schools or society in general, we received a lot of attention.
I personally think children should be protected irrespective wherever they are. Back in our times, I guess there was a larger number of child actors. Our school system accommodated us. I was a kid who would go to school only to write the final exams (laughs).
But nowadays, the academic pressure on children is more. Films, too, have changed over the years; it is not the same scenario as it was in late ’80s or ’90s when I was a child actor.