Mohan stages 'surprise' comeback

Mohan, the 'silver jubilee hero' in the 80s, who disappeared without a trace for more than a decade, has made re-entry taking film buffs by surprise.

He is featured in "Sutta Pazham' directed by G. Kamaraj, whose earlier directorial venture was "Perusu".

Mohan told mediapersons that director Kamaraj had given him the cassette of "Perusu"and wanted him to see it. He liked the film. Then Kamaraj wanted him to act in his next film "Sutta Pazham". Mohan heard the story and he found it interesting and different and accepted the offer.

"Sutta Pazham" is said to be a romantic comedy thriller in which Mohan plays an unmarried mansion owner, a 40-plus Casanova who gets involved with a woman leading to her murder and he is accused of being a serial killer. He sets up the laughs throughout the movie.

The shooting has been completed in just 40 days.

Mohan said he had no particular reason to be laid back for so many years. Nor had he any grievance against the industry. It is just that no story which he liked had come his way all these years. He has, however, not lost with the industry and has been engaged in the production of TV serials.

"Many people come to me with stories. If there are good characters, I will act. I am even ready to accept villain roles," he said and asked,"Why should not I play villain?"

He said it is no secret that songs in his films were big hits _ there were several songs which can be remixed, but those songs should relate to the subject. "Hereafter you can often see me on the screen …. in different roles."

Almost all movies featuring Mohan had a fantastic run. He had given a record 25 silver jubilee hits in his peak eight-year career. Notable among them were "Nenjathai Killadhey", Payanangal Mudivathillai" and "Mouna Ragam". He made his debut with "Kokila", a Kannada film directed by veteran Balu Mahendra, "Moodu Pani" was the first Tamil film in which he played a guest role. This was followed by Nenjathai Killaadhey, a masterpiece of director Mahendran, which ran for 365 days. Balu Mahendra won the national award for best cinematography for this film. "Payanangal Mudivathillai ran for over 500 days. "Mouna Ragam" won the national award for best Tamil film and it catapulted director Mani Ratnam to fame.

When Mohan is talked about, one cannot possibly leave out music maestro Ilayaraja.