I’m a sportsman. I am used to failures, and bouncing back from them."

I’m shy and open up to very few people.

I felt cheated because a lot of people wanted a relationship with my father, and they played me.

Finally, 'Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu' happened. The director had doubts if a city-bred, fair-looking boy would fit the role of a village kabbadi player.

Certainly, my father would not want to see me destroy myself in this business, as so many people in our family have been destroyed. I try to take good care of myself, but we are fighting the good fight, and the truth is powerful.

Since I was a child, I've liked telling stories. Maybe because my father's a director, I grew up loving stories. I'm not good at spinning them at a dinner table because I do go on a bit, but I love writing them, and directing is just a way of editing the story.

Work made me more streetwise because you can be so sheltered at home. I'd definitely encourage my kids Lillie and Karl, who are nine and seven, to get Saturday jobs in the future.

I never did quite fit the glamour mode. It is life with my husband and family that is my high now.