Meet Karunakaran: The man of the hour in south cinema

CHENNAI: Actor Karunakaran started off 2025 on the best possible note, not by being part of Thandel with Naga Chaitanya. Not only the film marked his debut in Telugu but his role of Manappuram Murali has given him a solid market in the industry. “How many times have you seen a producer coming up to an actor and congratulating them and talking about the performance. Allu Aravind sir did that for me even before the release of Thandel. Director Chandoo approached me for the role and I was surprised and at the same time I didn’t want to let it go because I wasn’t proficient in Telugu. He called me a couple of hours later and said that they can manage. This is the first time I have the phone numbers of an entire crew in my contact book because they all helped me with my lines,” he says with a smile.

Karunakaran’s transition from a comedian to a character artiste has been smooth and subtle just like his performance as Jagadish aka Jaggu, a bus conductor in Meiyazhagan. “Authenticity is what I look for in the roles I take up and then perform it with conviction. For instance, as you mentioned Meiyazhagan, I had asked Premkumar to send me a few video references of the mannerisms of the people of the Thanjavur region. I add a few nuances on my own. Thanks to my stage experience from school days. However, working with numerous talented filmmakers and artistes helped me hone my skills after I forayed into cinema,” he adds.

Despite all these, Karunakaran with authority says that he has never been a selfish actor. “I am a secured actor rather,” he says and immediately remarks, “Be it Sundar C sir or Nalan Kumarasamy, who I have known since our short film days have cast me in roles that they believe I could justify. When it came to Soodhu Kavvum, my role was changed from Arumaiprakasam to playing another character. I was a bit upset but it was Karthik Subbaraj, who insisted the producer that Arumaiprakasam would suit me better. And then came Jigarthanda. I am now addressed as Oorni wherever I go. Why I am saying these is because such roles came to me when I hadn’t planned my career.”

Of late, Karunakaran admits that he is being conscious of selecting his roles. “I have started planning my career. I have started filtering the roles and even if it is four to five films a year, l would still be happy if I think I have justified them. I don’t want to work round the clock. I need time for my kids, my parents and my wife. I am the person who knows the best when it comes to their health and needs. Work is important and which is why I am planning to reduce it to five good films a year,”

Karunakaran’s lineup is pretty interesting with films like Retro with Suriya, Vaa Vaathiyaar with Karthi, Oho Endhan Baby with Aryan and GD Naidu’s biopic with Madhavan. “Suriya-Karthi, Vishnu Vishal-Aryan, Venkat Prabhu-Premgi, Sathyaraj-Sibi—I guess this was all coincidental,” he laughs. “This is my first movie with Madhavan sir. Also, with Retro and Vaa Vaathiyaar, working with Karthik and Nalan put me in a free space. There is this one dialogue I did on spot and Karthik said, dei sirippe varla da (Doesn’t tickle the funny bone). But yes, I am excited about my lineup for the year and let’s see what the audience has to say,” he concludes.