‘Dorothy made us better humans’: Interview with stars Sananth and Rishikanth

Ever since Karthik Subbaraj’s Dorothy released on September 25, audiences have been swayed by Sananth and Rishikanth’s performances. Love for the actors has been pouring on social media. 

The actors play Subbu and Karthi, who grow up in and whose lives are torn asunder after an incident.  

During theatre visits, they have been greeted with tears, gratitude and love. The warm hugs the two exchange with people who walk up to them are endearing. They console the weeping and even wipe their tears. 

This is validation that has come to two actors who have been outliers for more than a decade. Both of them have been strugglers, working within the industry and in its periphery, honing their craft, and waiting for that one break. 

Rishikanth, who was raised in Thanjavur, got his break last month with Raja Karuppasamy’s Modha Rathri. He played Maruthu, a man who knows when to listen to a woman, and has now followed it up with Dorothy. 

Chennai-born Sananth made his debut in 2015 with Demonte Colony (2015) and has worked on some interesting films, including Karthik Subbaraj’s Mercury (2018), Petta (2019) and Mahaan (2022).

Both actors sit down with TNM to talk about their characters, breaking gender stereotypes, and more. 

How was the process of becoming Subbu and Karthi?

Sananth: It was very gentle. We stayed in Madurai for a while before we started shooting. We walked around, absorbed the environment, picked up the dialect and the essence of the people. 

At the same time, I observed trans women, spent time with the community, and spoke to them about their journey to becoming a woman. When we began shooting, it simply flowed from within.

Rishikanth: I found the process very gentle too. Travelling with Karthik Subbaraj is unlike any other experience. He made us read the script in depth. We had debates and discussions before we achieved a certain clarity. Eventually, when it was time to shoot, we did not need to look at our dialogues at all. We had prepped enough. 

Our end goal was that the characters should connect with the audience. And there is a lot of us on screen — you see the transition from children to teenagers to adults, and you see them become the exact opposite of what they were as children. The arc keeps changing.

Has the film changed you as people and changed your perceptions?

Sananth: Simply put, Dorothy transformed both of us and made us better humans. It showed us a world beyond what we knew. What the script and the movie-making helped us realise is how deep gender differences and inequities are.

Rishi: We absorbed a lot during the movie-making process. We did not have a deep knowledge of certain things before that. But the people we met and the stories we heard expanded our understanding. The first education was that people who we think ‘transitioned’ to women have always been women. 

It’s taken years to get your break. What kept you going? How did you sustain yourselves?

Sananth: From the time we were doing short films, I think we were confident about our potential. We’ve managed to safeguard it for all these years waiting for that one breakthrough. I kept on working. It was not easy. One has to be patient, but when it clicks, you know everything that happened did so for a reason.

Rishi: I think that if we don’t get something we desperately desire, perhaps we are not prepared to receive that gift. Probably, I was not ready for this responsibility earlier. Maybe I was not ready to handle this popularity or lacked the maturity to do so. Getting into the industry is easy, but sustaining oneself is difficult. I think for me, this decade of preparation was needed. Hence, the delay.

How are you coping with the gift of tears from the audience?

Sananth: More than words, these hugs and tears are my takeaway from the film. During theatre visits, they come and ask if they can hug me, they cry and they clap. It is surreal.

Rishi: Beyond entertainment, this kind of response shows that people see the craft too. I have always wanted to do at least one film for art’s sake. This film gives me hope. This film has given me respect. I am happiest that my character, Karthi, who is shaped by the audience’s perceptions and has a lot of self-realisation written into it, has clicked. 

How do you view women and their role in your life?

Sananth: Growing up, I don’t think I thought much about women. But, after my teenage years, I became acquainted with many. They have made me a better person and shaped my life. I think I found the patience needed to survive the industry from them. They taught me to wait and not give up.

Rishi: You know how it usually is — the father wants to protect you, sometimes even showing you an easy way to go ahead, but the mother is the one who instills moral clarity in you. My mother was one such person. She taught me to think with softness, empathy, and love. I might have grown up in my father’s metre, but the women in my life — my mother, friends, sister, and cousins — lent my personality a certain softness.

The characters of Subbu and Karthi don't really have any reference point. How did you work on your performance?

Sananth: We did not want any stereotypes in the performance, and so went in without references. I wanted to keep it as real as possible. I met women from the community and tried to find the femininity within me. 

Rishi: When you get too many instructions, the performance tends to get mechanical. When I read the script, I get a few visuals in my mind. Those are my references. I zone out from everything else.

How did it feel as actors to work in a film scored by maestro Ilaiyaraaja?

Sananth: It was a blessing. 

Rishi: This is something I had not even dared to dream of. I don’t even know if we deserve this kind of gift. Imagine, Sananth and I danced to his songs and even shared a screen with him. It was magical.