Dileep Unplugged!

You may like him or hate him but you can’t deny his success. Yes, we talking about Janapriya Nayakan Dileep. A self-made man who started out as director Kamal’s assistant tried small roles in films as a beginning and can be called as probably the most bankable star in the Malayalam industry at the moment. In 2013, Dileep films totalled a humongous 30 crores from satellite rights alone. Dileep films command the maximum satellite rights at the moment. Most of the actor’s films in 2013 were super-hits. Infact the phase 2010-2013 has been massive for Dileep as he has the best success rate among the top stars in Mollywood during this time.

Dileep however doesn’t want to call himself a Superstar as he feels that has a kind of distance from the audience. The label Janapriya Nayakan is more than enough according to the actor who feels that the tag isn’t an easy one to get. He also said that he has never chased things in his career and that it’s the audiences that decide what an actor is.

There is heavy criticism regarding the formulaic stuff that Dileep films have but the actor is unaffected by all this. He says that with the remuneration that he demands, he has to do films that make money at the box office as well as entertain the common man. Dileep says that his films are certainly doing the same and hence feels that the criticism is unwanted. The actor felt that ‘New Generation’ films are good indeed but also added that there are enough people in the industry to do the same.

It is hard to disagree with the actor’s beliefs as his non-commercial and variety attempts have hardly been recognized in recent years with films like Bodyguard, Aagathan, Arike, Vellaripraavinte Changathi and the most recent Ezhu Sundara Raatrikal all not doing reasonable business. So, rightfully the actor beliefs in sticking to his strengths but is at the same time still open to experiments as his upcoming bio-epic of Sri Sathya Sai Baba shows.

There has been talks of animosity between Dileep and a certain section of the industry. The actor however expressed surprise at the fact that even people who don’t know him much are against him. Dileep added that he doesn’t have the time to respond to such issues as his film works keep him occupied for most of the time.