Attakathi Dinesh interview: ‘Lubber Pandhu saved me. I felt I was seeing light again’

Debut director Tamizharasan Pachamuthu was apparently very particular that he wanted Dinesh to play Gethu, and convinced him to sign the film. And, in one fell sweep, Dinesh erased years of being relegated to the sidelines after a stellar start with films like Attakathi (2012), Cuckoo (2014), Oru Naal Koothu (2016) and the searing Visaranai (2015) and its Oscar campaign.

Suddenly, people were sharing his images on social media, wondering what he was up to all these years. Gethu’s cricketing moves as well as his rural swag became talking points and ahem, of all things, Dinesh found himself being a hot topic on Google image search. If he knows of this, he’d blush, like Gethu does when he sees his wife, Yasodhe, who is always bristling with anger except when she cooks him his everyday special tiffin box.

‘Handling fame is an art’

The blockbuster success of Lubber Pandhu and acceptance of the bearded Gethu have left Dinesh pleasantly surprised, almost giving him new energy when he was exhausted. “I don’t know how to respond to praise. I’m just thankful to the Almighty. Because I’ve never really sought out people to speak to, after or before a film’s release. Most of the time, I don’t know what to say. I find it very hard to speak about myself or my work. That people experienced something that cannot be explained, through us… that feels good,” he says.

For someone who did a slew of films that gained popular and critical acclaim between 2012 and 2026, Dinesh’s choices have been eclectic and unusual. He has not shied away from working in small, significant roles. He has not looked at the length of his role. He, in his words, is always in quest of good cinema to work in. But something that ties in with his sensibilities. “I lead a quiet life and work when I am approached, and when it appeals to me. This was a new director, but something about Tamizharasan Pachamuthu and his idea of what he wanted to convey appealed to me. I always look at the idea, and, more importantly, the intention behind a movie.”

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Dinesh believes in these bonds he has forged over the years, and his friends and family — that sustained him as he journeyed from being an actor who stood by the wings to one in front of the camera. It was a long journey. “The preparation lasted almost a decade. From 2001, I did theatre (English, Tamil and French theatre — acting and doing backstage work, and streetplays), television serials, small roles in films, a film that stopped midway… I almost decided to give up when Attakathi happened,” he says.

Dinesh courted fame for the first time in 2012 as Dinakaran, whose quest is to fall in love. “Handling fame is an art. There will be politics, people will try to get in between and you won’t know how to judge people, whom to believe. There will be financial challenges when work does not come your way. This is not a regular life, and I have come to accept that,” says the actor.

‘Poomalai close to my real-life character’

Where Dinesh thinks he has gotten lucky is with family. “During the lockdown, I was at home, with no work. But that was when I knew for sure that this is my profession and I must be committed to it. See how Poomaalai is looked after by his family, that’s how mine looks after me. And, that frees me up to wait for work that is aligned with my views.”

In the case of Lubber Pandhu, the reel seemed to mirror the real for Dinesh. “Poomalai is very close to my real-life character. I think life prepared me for this role, teaching me patiently, throwing me into situations, situations at me, and somehow that came across beautifully on screen. It all came from my lived experiences.”

Dinesh has gone through a phase where he suddenly wondered what he was doing sticking around in the industry. “Some rejection replies would be harsh. For instance, I waited for so long for Lubber Pandhu’s release. And seeing the reception, it struck me that the audience is seeing me as a brand new Dinesh. The look, the salt and pepper hair, everything was new to them. But, it was the same me, burnished by life and experiences.”

Has the film’s commercial success liberated him, in a way? “I am very happy for the team. I am happiest for producers S. Lakshman Kumar and A. Venkatesh. They deserve this for the faith they had in us. I think these box office numbers will change things for the cast and crew, too. The market tends to slot you in certain budget ranges. This film will change that range. But, honestly, what makes me happiest is that people have celebrated the film.”

On the soundtracks

Dinesh is especially charmed by the playlist from the 1980s and 90s in the film, because they are the very songs he listens to on loop. ‘Indha Bhoomi Namakku Sondhamilla’ is a firm favourite. ‘Nee Pottu Vecha’ is on my playlist, too, along with Captain’s songs from Vaanathai Pola. My generation grew up on these songs and it makes me very glad a new generation is listening to them now.”

Dinesh is one of those actors who does not shy away from re-examining certain career decisions he took. Raju Murugan’s Cuckoo, his second film where he played a visually-impaired singer, left him with severely strained eyes, because he acted ‘blind’ without professional help or the use of trick shots.

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Ten years ago, he could not handle bright light, driving and mobile phone scrolling. But, in his 20s, he thought the effort was worth it. A decade later, with the wisdom of age and experience, he clearly sees the folly of taking that risk so early on in his career. “I do not regret signing that film, I am very proud of it. But I’m not happy with myself for what I did to my eyes to play that role.” Ironically, after Lubber Pandhu’s success, Cuckoo has received new love on YouTube, and the comments section is full of love for Dinesh’s Tamizh.

Emerging from the dark

Gethu is swashbuckling on the cricket field, again a throwback to the life Dinesh led, playing with everything from plastic balls to tennis balls. “Till I was 21, I played in almost all grounds in Chennai. That helped me with the shots in Lubber Pandhu, especially when I had to hit big enough for the ball to touch the palm trees. I could not have faked it, and the actors who bowled did not go easy — I would get a yorker to the face,” he laughs.

To think a person who first saw success as a young man is now courting it again when he’s approaching his 40s, when pepper and grey share space on his scalp and beard. In between, he recalls a distributor telling someone: ‘Who will pay to watch this face on screen?’ “Over the years, I have learnt to work to quell expectation and desire. The Dhamma says that youth is like running inside a forest, and the 40s feels like emerging from that dark, dense forest,” he says adding: “I was on a parallel journey in my career. This film saved me in a way. I felt like I was seeing light again. And, I did not struggle much to do it. I did not have to transform myself physically. My look was achieved by just washing my face with water.”

Now that he’s come out, and it’s bright outside, Dinesh sees new learnings — I have to learn to tackle this popularity, remain calm, and be a pakkuvamana (mature) presence on the set. I wish to be a liberated, self-sufficient person, not bound by any demands.” Words that might seem to express too little, but are vast in their scope. Much like Dinesh.