It didn't take much time to get Malayalam filmmaker Santhosh Pandit on the phone. For one, his phone number was displayed along with credits of his movies. He was on the other side of just a couple of calls and an SMS. The man was circumspect though, not the least because he receives innumerable such calls from people pretending to be fans, journalists and event managers. Yet, there was a certain confidence that Santhosh displayed once the guard was down. From the time the interview was recorded, which is almost two months now, to this day, Santhosh's career and image seem to have progressed, going by media reports. However, I believe, I was able to capture the essence of the man. So here's the full transcript of the interview (to make reading easier, I have done away with the questions I asked. So the entire thing is just Santhosh speaking, with a few explanations by me in brackets):
Please don't harass (Santosh has received several abusive calls in the past). But please free to criticise.
I have made four movies till now. My first film "Krishnanum Radheyum" was a super-duper hit. It was released in October 2011
Then "Superstar Santosh Pandit" in 2012, "Minimolude Acchan" in 2013, and "Kalidasan Kavitha Ezhuthukeyaanu" in 2014. Basically one movie every year. But 2015 will see two films being released. My 2nd, 3rd and 4th films have done average business, with the last one doing slightly better.
I wanted to be a director; always wanted to be an all-rounder. When I was in Class 12 and pursuing my degree, I realised the possibility of low-budget movies. People discouraged me back then. So essentially it was to prove myself that I ventured into films for the first time.
My father was a PWD engineer in Kuttyadi, Kozhikode. Dad died when I was in Class 11. I have a sister. Mom to died soon. I too got married when I was 22-23. My wife was a bank manager. I have a son. He is called Navajyot Pandit. He is under my wife's custody. We got divorced around six years ago. I entered films after that.
I am a civil engineer by training. I have a degree in English, MA in Hindi. I have done my typewriting, stenography, software, hardware. I have also pursued my bachelor of academic law. Currently I'm completing MA psychology from Annamalai University.
I have heard from my elders that my family migrated from UP several generations ago. I am a Nair. I still go and give sermons in temples. The surname Pandit comes from my supposed original caste.
I am completely happy about my time in cinema. When my first films was released, mine was the second-most searched name on the internet, after Facebook. I don't calculate much about the movie business. One thing I realised was that more than producing a movie, marketing it was more important. I understood this from the industrial psychology lessons I took.
I understood that creating curiosity about the movie was very important before releasing it. There is need to differentiate. That is industrial psychology. Even the songs in my movies are based on that theory. Both my supporters and critics agree on one point, that I am unique. That is my identity.
I do things with a social orientation. Profit is important, but not the central focus of my work, (Quotes "Karmanye va Adhikaaraste").
My audience fall in all categories. Typically, my movies have eight songs. One for kids, one romantic bit, one a fast number etc. I cater to even those who don't like movies.
I am a member of the producers' association, but not AMMA. You should ask AMMA members about their relationship with me. I had approached them for membership after my first film. But then they said I need to make at least three movies before getting membership.
Not all TV shows are aggressive towards me. Those who are, please ask them why they are aggressive towards me. Their aggression is not really genuine. They craft it that way to gain TRPs. They provoke me based on a planned script. They actually ask the participants to provoke me. I am human, so often I too get provoked. Like I told you at the beginning of the interview, I tell as them to avoid harassing me. But then they claim what Kerala audience are looking for is harassment -- I do not agree with that though. For instance, a recently-married woman actor was taunted about her husband's looks. She broke down and the channel made money from that.
When they tell me about their plan, if it crosses the limit, I refuse to take part. But then what the channels do is edit out the normal parts and broadcast those where I am agitated following the provocation.
The short route to avoid all this is for me to break down, which is what they want. They have actually told me things like "if you just break into tears, we will avoid harassing you". I think the problem lies with the audience which is looking for such kind of entertainment.
There are people looking to destroy me. There is no doubt about it. When people are not able to succeed in even one job, here I am taking on several roles in a movie and succeeding.
For instance mimicry artists lament that they have been in the field for decades and yet no nobody wants a photograph taken with them, and here I am, just a few years old, and already a superstar. They even fill up the chat show audience with fans of other stars. People keep asking me why I go for such shows just to get pilloried. Getting interviewed is my job. I am paid for it. Now I am tired of such shows so I started my own show, "The Santosh Pandit Show", on YouTube.
There is a difference between their approach in using me as bait, and mine in caricaturing myself. For instance, in one of the chat shows to supposedly discuss the problems of Malayalam cinema, they didn't get a single owner of the 1,000-odd cinema halls that shut down in Kerala in recent times, leaving just 500 of them functioning today. Instead they discussed me as a punching bag. That's a negative approach. However, what I do before movies is not that. For instance, I upload a normal video and give it a titillating title. Like a video of my putting on make-up inside a moving bus is titled "Santosh Pandit new hot video in bus". This gets my movie huge publicity. Nobody is hurt by what I do.
Even my movies do not have anything wrong to convey. There is no abuse. No drinks, no smoking. My movies are all positive.
I think I do have enemies. You see, to be a hero you need enemies.
I do not worry whether anybody is working against me. My focus is my work. I want to work from morning to night.
I have been for 200 inaugurations. During my first inauguration after the release of my first film. Someone threw an egg at me, but it actually hit a policeman. A TV channel made a big issue out of it. It wasn't really a big attack. Nobody is universally loved. I almost feel the channel guys organised the so called "attack". The incident took place after the inauguration and when I was leaving. The reporter waited for two hours after the inauguration. The camera was placed exactly behind my back. The cameraman actually shot my reaction just when the egg was thrown. I didn't complain to the police. So how did the channel know it was an attack. Besides, the TV presenter was smiling as he showed the news. Do you smile when someone is attacked?
I didn't take action against that channel because I didn't want to spoil my ties with that channel and jeopardise my movies' prospects as far as the channel was concerned. Besides, if it becomes an issue, then the credibility of TV media is put at stake.
I am all for criticism. But even that should be dignified, respectful. It should be constructive. Whereas if someone gets abusive with me, I react.
So this image of mine of being a subject of ridicule is actually created by TV channels.
I watch shows in cinema halls because people would crowd in to watch me live. That increases viewership.
Nowadays, I am not getting the criticism that I got for my first film. That is creating trouble as people are not curious. Recently a director himself created a row by talking about the original delivery scene of his lead woman actor. If people had asked me "how dare make a movie like this" this would have been easier for me. Basically, I don't have a "villain" now.
My favourite actor is Mohanlal in Malayalam, Akshay Kumar in Hindi and Suriya in Tamizh.
The reason why I give out my phone number with my name in the credits is that when people have something to say to me, they should be able to. Why should anyone worry about people reacting -- be it positive or negative?
I employ around 100 people for every movie.
I like cricket. I read non-fiction, mostly psychology.
I am 32 years old.
Please provide my email ID and mobile number in your article. carnival555@gmail.com
I would like to be known as the world's most open and communicative filmmaker.
