Audience acceptance is all I seek: Mammootty

He loathes telephonic or even email interviews. Exclusive sound bites, he told journalists who attended the press conference for his first Kannada flick Shikari, would have to be from personal meetings on the sets of the film.

I didn't think you'd actually come," said Mammootty on seeing this correspondent waiting for him at the sets of Shikari. "Now that you're here, let's talk," he says, adding with a smile, "but no controversy talk. If you're looking at confirming gossip, you'll get no answer."

Shikari is the first film Mammootty is working on after his recent holiday in the US. The high point of this year's holiday is his new acquisition — a fully loaded 3G iPad. "Technology fascinates me. It's a passion to own every new device and technological advancement in the visual medium," he explains. But these prized possessions are not just showpieces. "I use them to stay connected with people and the world," he says. That's why his laptop (with a high-speed Internet connection USB), iPhone and the iPad go wherever he goes. The actor has also invested in technology for his first home production, which will go on the floors in June. "This will be the first Malayalam film to be shot with a red digital cinema camera," he says with a hint of pride.

Tech-talk over, Mammootty explains why, after over 30 years in films, he decided to make a foray into Sandalwood. "There have been offers before, but none of them worked. For years, I've been in a very comfortable position in the Malayalam industry, so it's natural that I'd want to do meaningful films when I venture into another language. But meaningful doesn't have to mean arthouse. The film has to make sense to me and the film-maker, and should be accepted by the audience," he says.

In Shikari, the actor plays a software professional who chances upon a manuscript of an unfinished novel and falls in love with a character. "I was drawn to this project by the director's (Abhay Simha) vision to make this concept believable," he says. That's also why he convinced the director and producer to make the film in Malayalam as well. "Malayalam films are made on a much smaller scale than most other language films. Our competition is Tamil and movies dubbed from Telugu, which are more grandiose and do well at the box office. Multilinguals, therefore, not only increase your profile as an actor, but also improve the scope of Malayalam films," says the actor, whose next film, Vande Mataram, co-starring Arjun Sarja, is also a bilingual.

Just then, a member of his staff interrupts. "Sir, the shot should be ready in 10 minutes," he says. As Mammootty gets up to get ready for the shot, there's one last question: What does he do to stay in such good shape, considering he's 56? "I am a simple man. And what I am is god's gift," he laughs.