An actor chooses a script due to various reasons. They could be drawn by the story, the screenplay, the character, or perhaps just by the strength of the technical team. “I was amazed by the vision of director Nagarajan—and that compelled me to pick Amigo Garage. I think it’s impressive that he’s both the director and the producer,” says Mahendran, whose upcoming film, Amigo Garage, is gearing up for release this March 15.
In this action-thriller, Mahendran traverses through life, turning from a student to a young adult who finds employment. And this is when his life goes topsy turvy. “More specifically, he turns into a gangster at one point, even though he’s not driven by evil or violence,” he reveals. Mahendran notes that he plays a restrained, mature role in this film, a far cry from the typical angry young man he’s generally seen as in his other films.
Yet, Amigo Garage marks the third time that Mahendran is playing a gangster. Does he feel like he gets boxed into this character type? “I have worked on a love story in Vizha, a comedy drama in Namma Oorukku Ennadhan Achu, and a horror film in Ripupbury. I have done that because I believe that the audience notices me more when I break boundaries and work on films that show me in different light,” he replies.
The title, Amigo Garage, comes from the film’s setting of a garage. “Amigo, as you know, comes from the well-known Spanish word that means ‘friend’. This film is also about this garage owner who falls in love with a Spanish woman. Before he can tell her about his feelings, she leaves for her home country. Amigo is one of the few words he learns from her,” he shares.
Although Mahendran earned the title ‘Master’ when his name got displayed on the big screen for the first time in Nattamai (1994), this title gained renewed prominence when he played a young Bhavani in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Master. Acknowledging the director’s pivotal role in this success, Mahendran reflects, “Once I acted in Master, many producers trusted my ability and were willing to sign projects in my name. It also opened new avenues for me, and I found myself gaining opportunities from the Malayalam and Telugu industries as well.”
For Mahendran, a gripping one-line story is enough to convince him. “When a director can summarise the film with a few highlights, and if it engages me, I rest assured that the story will come out well. Although we have moved onto storyboards and pitch decks, I still think it’s the short narration of the director that always works,” he says.
Before Mahendran debuted as a hero in Vizha, the actor worked as a child artiste in over 100 films sharing screen space with prominent veteran actors including Sarathkumar, Pandiarajan and Prabhu. “I have many fond memories with late director-actor Manivannan sir, listening to him speak about cinema and direction for hours on end. These stars have taught me how to be a sincere actor, and how to retain humility and hide private emotions,” he says.
The actor admits that his views on cinema have changed over the years and observes that there is more emphasis on the star than on the story today. “Filmmakers love creating stars today, not cinema. Everything has become commercialised now which has resulted in good films not running well in theatres and distributors not interested in buying them.”
Mahendran, for his part, isn’t interested in stardom for now. He just hopes to become a ‘complete actor’. “Even someone from Kashmir should recognise my name,” he says, ambitiously, and further expresses his desire to venture into direction some day. His list of wishes is complete when he concludes, “And I would also love to portray a famous personality in a biopic.”
