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Photo: S.Siva Saravanan

Handling highs and lows with maturity: Shaam.

“I have not forgotten what my father said then: Never run away from failure. Fight it. And, I repeated Class VI.”

Graduating from St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, Shaam modelled for four years before director Jeeva chose him to act in ‘12B.’ What was the particular quality that Jeeva saw in Shaam? Hunger (to achieve something). “Jeeva sir knew it when there was the hunger to work,” says Shaam.

He recollects his meeting with Jeeva. When Shaam handed over his portfolio, and introduced himself in English, Jeeva heard him out, and then said, “Repeat what you just said, in Tamil.” Shaam did, and we got ‘12B’s hero.

He recalls the pressure within himself to measure up to the two veteran actors. “Both of them were very supportive. Jyotika kept encouraging me to work hard and give my best, while Simran said that the only difference between us was that she had entered the industry five years before I did.” adds Shaam.

Since then, Shaam has starred in many films, including ‘Yeh! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke,’ ‘Lesa Lesa,’ ‘Ullam Ketkume,’ ‘Manadhodu Mazhaikaalam’ and the national award winning film, ‘Iyarkai.’

Having seen the highs and lows in the past few years Shaam says it’s a mean world with mean business. “When you are successful you are celebrated, but when you fail, people walk all over you. When a film bombs at the box office, the hero is blamed, and for a hit, the team receives the bouquets. But, over the years, I have learnt to gauge people, and handle them accordingly.”

However, he is quick to add there are great people like his godfather, Jeeva. “Jeeva sir taught me to stop being the happy-go-lucky guy on the sets, to take my job seriously and to value takes. He asked me to give opportunity to new comers, and to never forget that I was once a new comer myself. If I can call myself a professional now, I completely owe it to him,” recalls Shaam.

Rib him about having two ladies in most of his films, he just gives you an I-have-nothing-to-do-with-that disarming smile.

Amidst the evident excitement about his current Tamil projects ‘Inba, Antony Yaar?’ and ‘Thoondil,’ ‘Cash’ and ‘Maya’ in Telugu, and films in Malayalam and Kannada, he sheepishly admits, ‘Thoondil’ too has two women in the lead, Ramya and Sandhya.

Is it difficult acting in other languages? “No. In fact, for ‘Tananam Tananam’ (his debut in Kannada: two heroines there too), I was given the script in advance, and during the shoot very little changes were made. Kavitha Lankesh (the director) is a thorough professional.”

A fitness freak, who loves his mom’s food, Shaam says his wife Kashish and sister Shabin are his harshest critics. He flips open his mobile phone, and there he is, holding his darling of a daughter, Samaira (which means boundless beauty).

Are you not supposed to have told me your existence revolves around her? I tease him. He becomes serious at once. “There are four women in my life,” he says, and before you let your wily mind rove, he adds: “My mother, wife, sister and daughter. They are my pillars of strength.” Well, Shaam is all of warmth, and what someone described charmth!

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