Yogi Babu's 300th: 'the story matters, not the heroine'

Yogi Babu has reached a number most actors never see, and he spent his 300th film’s launch trying to talk everyone out of making a fuss over it. Arjunan Per Paththu, written and directed by R. Rajmohan, had its songs and trailer out at an event where the milestone was the headline, and its star treated the figure less as a trophy than as a challenge. “I have no idea how they worked out that this is my 300th film,” he said. “But we shouldn’t set our own limits with a number. Three hundred isn’t enough for me.” An actor shouldn’t be counting his own films and preening over the tally, he added; that sum is something you announce only at the very end, the way giants like Nagesh and Manorama did.

He put the run down to faith more than anything, crediting his devotion to Murugan for carrying him this far. And he was clear-eyed about what actually pays the bills. Whatever frame he turns up in, people see a comedian, and comedy, in his words, is what puts rice on his plate. He has no plans to give it up even as films occasionally hand him a lead. “I’m passing my time as a comedy actor,” he said, thanking the fans who have stayed with him and promising more.

The line that will travel furthest was about leading ladies, or his cheerful indifference to them. Asked, in effect, who he wanted opposite him, he waved the question away. “I acted alongside Nayanthara back in 2016. I have no worry now about who I act with. The story is what matters, not the heroine.” The one name still on his wishlist is a hero’s, not a heroine’s. “Kamal sir is the only person I haven’t acted with yet. I hope I will, soon.”

For all the affection in the room, he pushed back on a comfortable myth about the industry, that it is only hard for outsiders. His grandfather’s roots are in a village near Arcot, but he and his family were born and raised in Chennai, and he has felt the grind for 24 years all the same. Before Yogi made his name in 2009, he worked across television comedy shows in the Lollu Sabha mould, assisted an art director, and took whatever came. “If you want to grow, you have to do all of that,” he said. “Every bit of it was for my own growth.”

The film itself came out of one of those long industry friendships that goes quiet and then suddenly doesn’t. Rajmohan had once narrated a story to him, then dropped off the radar for a stretch. Three years ago, sitting in his office, Yogi found himself wondering what the man was up to, called him on a whim, and heard he was working on something. He told him to come over and make it. That, more or less, is how Arjunan Per Paththu began, and he used the anecdote to hold a door open. “I’m ready to help a lot of assistant directors like this. Come with a good story. Do it properly.”

His warmest words were for his composer. D Imman is a favourite of his, and the two go back to the days they spent on Prabhu Solomon’s Mambo, where Imman’s name came up constantly and admiringly. Yogi wants Imman scoring the films he headlines, said as much from the stage, and noted the composer had granted a specific request for this one. He also thanked Kaali Venkat, a close friend who turned up the moment he was called, lyricist Karthik Netha, and directors Suseendran, Nithilan and Shan among the guests who came by.

Arjunan Per Paththu is produced by Kiruthiga Thangapandi S and Thangapandi D under Dhev Cinemas, with L. Sundarapandi as co-producer. Alongside Yogi Babu and Anamika Mahi, the cast runs to Kaali Venkat, Aruldass, Lenin Bharathi, Subramaniam Siva, Myna Nandhini, Madhan Dakshinamoorthy, Sendrayan and others. Behind the camera are cinematographer Pradeep Kaliraja, editor Mu. Kasi Viswanathan, lyricist Karthik Netha and dialogue writer M.R. Arun Sundar, with art direction by B. Sekar and stunts by Om Prakash.

The producer welcomed the gathering, draped Yogi in a garland taller than most people in the hall to mark the occasion, and a cake was cut. For all the star’s insistence that 300 is just a waypoint, the film gives the number a face. Arjunan Per Paththu opens in theatres on July 17.