The Moment Actor Manikandan Considered Leaving the Film Industry

Synopsis

Actor Manikandan shared a personal story about contemplating quitting the film industry due to a tough period. He spoke about a friend who encouraged him to stay in cinema, leading to a breakthrough role that changed his career trajectory.

Key Takeaways

Manikandan faced a challenging moment in his career.
He considered leaving acting for a stable job.
A friend's encouragement played a crucial role.
He learned driving to secure an acting role.
This experience marked a turning point in his career.

Chennai, Jan 23 (NationPress) Acclaimed actor Manikandan, who has emerged as one of the leading figures in the Tamil film industry today, recently opened up about a challenging period when he contemplated stepping away from acting due to tough circumstances.

The star, who is set to appear in the comedy-drama ‘Kudumbasthan’ releasing on Friday, shared in a recent YouTube interview, “One day, everything that I was working on as a dubbing artiste got shut down. I got very worried about what I would do for my income.”

He revealed that he sought assistance from a friend in the IT sector for a potential job, saying, “I thought cinema would save me. I am finding it extremely difficult to leave it and move on. But after this, the situation here has got so difficult that it is better that I move on. I need to take up some stable job to steer my family ashore and then come back.”

Manikandan recounted how his friend urged him not to make such a drastic decision, leaving him with tears in his eyes.

“I took a bus back home and slept that night. The next morning, when I opened my eyes, I found three missed calls from director Nalan Kumarasamy. When I called him, he invited me to his office, where he presented the script of ‘Kaadhalum Kadandhu Pogum.’ There was a driver character named Murali, and he asked if I’d be interested in playing that role,” Manikandan said.

“I expressed my willingness to act but admitted that I didn’t know how to drive. He chuckled, ‘That is your problem boss! You need to learn it.’ I rushed back to my friend in the IT sector and requested him to enroll me in a driving school since I was broke. He helped me out, and within 10 days, I learned to drive and took on the role. Since then, my acting career has flourished,” he concluded.