'Naachiyaar' was a turning point in my career: Composer and actor GV Prakash to TNM

After having a flowery start as a musician, GV Prakash flipped sides to turn into an actor. Now, he is arguably one of the busiest artists in the industry, with more than 7 films at different stages of production currently.

TNM caught up with the actor on the sets of his upcoming action thriller with director Vijay, which has completed close to 50% of its shoot within a short span of time. GV Prakash is now gearing up for the release of his rural family entertainer Sema which hits the screens this Friday, the 25th of May. The actor goes by the name of Kulanthai in the film, a jolly character who sells vegetables for a living.

Speaking about it, he says, “Sema is my first rural family entertainer. Pandiraj sir approached me with some interesting in-family concepts such as a friendly relationship with the mother, the challenges and comedy in a match-making scene and so on. It is actually an episode from an assistant director’s life.”

While his films so far have mostly catered to the youth, Sema will be a complete entertainer that’s fit for the whole family.

“All of the audiences are important, including kids and family. I have never touched the rural side yet, and this was a good opportunity to get onto that. I’ve given my 100% to it. Here, we have a lot of women characters playing important roles. Be it Sujatha (of Paruthiveeran fame), the heroine Arthana or Kovai Sarala (who supposedly has a hilarious part), they’ll all have their own space in the film,” he says.

GV Prakash’s last release Naachiyaar was a facelift for him as an actor, bringing in the audience who had written him off as a shallow artist. Ask him about the changes in his choices post the release of the film, he is quick to say, “Naachiyaar is definitely a turning point in my career. A lot of people have noticed me as an actor, and I have been bestowed with more performance-oriented scripts. Most of my other upcoming films such as AL Vijay’s film which I’m currently doing, Sasi’s film and Vasanthabalan’s hard-hitting drama, have arrived because of Naachiyaar’s success. Even Anurag Kashyap called me said that we should collaborate. It’s a huge compliment.”

Of all his upcoming films, what looks the most interesting is definitely Rajeev Menon’s Sarvam Thaala Mayam, a musical ride which will depict the story of a Dalit musician making it big in the industry. GVP plays the lead role in the film, which has music by AR Rahman. The actor’s face brightens up when we start talking about this exciting project.

“It was quite challenging, because Rajeev sir was very particular that I learn the drums and mridangam properly to get into the skin of my character. I had to go for classes for the film. Like how Mayakkam Enna exhibited passion towards photography, Sarvam Thaala Maayam will be a celebration of music. A lot of other factors such as Dalit politics too, have been explored. With AR Rahman’s music, it’ll be a treat for music lovers.”

GV Prakash promises some terrific visuals too in Sarvam Thaala Mayam. He gives us an update that the special 111-minute long international version of the film is currently being screened at Cannes, with director Rajeev Menon making his presence felt at the festival.

Putting aside all his acting commitments, GV Prakash is spending enough time on the keyboard to bring about some high quality music for his only upcoming film as a composer – the Suriya starrer directed by Sudha Kongara. The film is now in its pre-production stage, and is expected to take off by the end of the year. Throwing some light on it, he says “I know Sudha from her days as an assistant director, we share a great rapport. She’s very different, and so will be the subject that she has undertaken. Musically, we are doing our best to arrive at a new sound for the film. Composing is almost done for the project.”

Since the start of his career, there has been a lot of criticism against the actor for the amount of misogyny and sexism in his films. GV Prakash goes on the defensive when asked about this and says, “I think Trisha Illana Nayanthara is the only film where such a thing has happened in full. If you see my first film, the character of the woman was given the maximum importance and screen space there. Look at Naachiyaar, where the woman is the one who guides me in the right direction. In the same way, all of my upcoming films will provide tons of preference and room to the women's side of things. Especially, watch out for Sasi sir’s film, where the woman character is the center-point of all the proceedings."

Apart from the above-mentioned projects, GV Prakash has several interesting films in hand, including the scientific thriller Ayngaran, mystery drama Adangathey, the romantic entertainer 100% Kaadhal, the comic ride Kuppathu Raja, the fun-fiction based 4G and the yet-to-be-titled fantasy adventure where he joins hands once again with Adhik Ravichandran.