She does it her way

Singer, actor, painter Suchitra Krishnamoorthi talks of art, ambition and more

Those not acquainted with her work tend to think of Suchitra Krishnamoorthi mostly in connection with her marriage with director Shekar Kapur. As even a casual glance at her career reveals, however, that would be a great injustice to the actor, singe r and now painter.

Unlike most other artistes, she has never been in a hurry to pad up her portfolio with film projects. “Call it confidence, laziness or whatever. For me the creative process is paramount and it is what I enjoy the most. While I am artistically very ambitious and want to push myself to the extreme in finding my expression, I am not so bothered about material things. I enjoy doing things at my own pace and by God’s grace I am able to do that,” she points out.

The most current form that artistic ambition has taken is painting, an endeavour that Suchitra says first began as a cathartic exercise on a Ganesh Chaturthi some years ago. The deity Ganesha is her most frequent muse, she reveals, “I see ganeshas everywhere, in the folds of my curtains and the tiles of my floor and the way rain puddles form on the ground. I then try to give these a physical expression by putting them down on canvas.”

What began as a spontaneous outpouring of emotion has since taken on career-sized proportions, with Suchitra exhibiting her work at a number of galleries in Mumbai, Delhi and London. Suchitra says painting has now taken centre stage in her career. “I enjoy my art thoroughly as it frees me from the pressure of external perceptions. It is a solitary journey where I am not dependant on anybody for the final outcome unlike music or acting which is interactive and collaborative.”

Acting

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the singer-actress has called it quits in the acting department. After her appearance in “My Wife’s Murder”, she returns to the big screen with “Ram Gopal Varma’s Sholay” and a crossover film called “Karma Confessions and Holi”.

The latter film, she explains attracted her interest because she could identify with the character she plays. “I play an Indian girl married to an affluent American businessman who is trying to find her self in a country and situation in which she feels quite displaced and out of her territory. Personally I have been there, I empathised completely with Sujata’s situation and emotional journey.”

“Over the years I have learnt to become more self referential. As long as I can keep my head on my shoulders and abide by my own truth I think it all works out.”