Arulnithi: Making a mark

Arulnithi is relieved. His newest film Demonte Colony has been well-received and he has earned the acclaim of critics for his portrayal of the protagonist in a horror flick that draws its backdrop from real life.

The grandson of DMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister K Karunanidhi, Arulnithi is no stranger to movies. He was born into the industry, if you may, more so because while his granddad and uncles were busy in politics, his dad was a successful film producer.

 He says that acting was an almost natural choice, given his career in modelling. “But I was not in any rush because I understand how important it is to live up to the legacy,” he adds.

 That meant waiting patiently until the right script came along. But when his cousin Udhayanidhi Stalin (also an accomplished actor today) dropped out of director Pandiraj’s Vamsam, he stepped into the role, with the film recording critical and box office success.

 In his second film, Udhayam, he played a dual role, and the film was stylishly shot. It was his third film Mouna Guru, a sleeper hit that was also screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, which earned Arulnithi credible acclaim as an actor.

 He continues, however, not to be carried away and is extremely choosy when it comes to picking a film. “I do a lot of discussions with the members of my family before finalising a movie because I am aware of the significant scrutiny that comes my way,” says Arulnithi.

 Having been in the limelight for decades now, the family does not mince words when it comes to his movies or performance. “There is always straight talk. If the film or my acting is bad, they tell it straight to my face. And that is a good thing because it helps me be focused and reminds me of my responsibility,” says Arulnithi.

With Demonte Colony, he didn’t blink twice before accepting the role “because it was so well-written. It is nothing like the current breed of horror-comedy movies. It is an out-and-out thriller and the horror element is creatively weaved into the narrative,” says Arulnithi.

 The fact that De Monte Colony is regarded as one of the spooky real life places in Chennai was secondary to the film’s narrative, says Arulnithi. “This is a not a recreation of real life events because let us be honest, we don’t know what happened all those decades ago. What the director, Ajay Gnanamuthu, did was to take inspiration from the setting.”

 “Ajay was in fact my junior at college, although we didn’t know each other then. And what I realised when I worked with him is that although he is just three or four years younger, there is so much to learn from him – and today’s youth. They see films from a very different perspective.”

 Demonte Colony works, he says, because of its sincerity to the genre. “Today, we have a number of horror movies where the audiences clap for the ‘ghost’ and laugh with it. Demonte Colony takes the subject seriously, which has been a different experience for the viewers,” he adds.

 He also feels that Tamil cinema today has an influx of creative youth, so the industry is well-positioned to make movies that will stand the test of time. “This is indeed a great time to be in cinema,” he says.