Sivakarthikeyan delighted with the success of his latest opus Amarán. The actor was present at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, where he spoke about his career and experiences in the industry. According to a report in News 18, the actor said he “almost fell” into depression after his father died when he was a teenager. (Also read: From mimetic artist to headliner ₹300 crores hit Amaran, how Sivakarthikeyan conquered Tamil cinema)

What Sivakarthikeyan said

Sivakarthikeyan’s father was a prison warden who died in the line of duty in the early 2000s, when the actor was just 17 years old. Narrating the difficult time, Sivakarthikeyan said at the event, “After my father passed away, I almost fell into depression. But work saved me. The applause and cheers of my audience became my therapy… Cinema has always been my passion. From the beginning, I wanted to entertain people.

He also thanked his friends for pushing him to become an actor. He added: “My first stage was in college when I was studying engineering. My friends pushed me on stage and said, ‘Do whatever you want, the audience should like it.’

This is not the first time Sivakarthikeyan has spoken about his father. During Amaran’s success, he called him his “first hero” and paid him a moving tribute. “I remember shining his shoes, putting his badge on the uniform, helping hang the belt, everything. I wanted to be like him in Amaran. I know he will be happy now, hearing all the applause and cheers ” he said.

About Amarán

Amaran brought in more than ₹300 million at the box office. This makes the film, based on the life of the late Major Mukund Varadarajan and his wife Indhu Rebecca Varghese, Sivakarthikeyan’s highest-grossing film to date.

Amaran is an adaptation of the book series India’s Most Fearless: True Stories of Modern Military Heroes by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh. Major Mukund died during an anti-terrorism operation in 2014 and was awarded the Ashoka Chakra posthumously. Amaran was released in theaters on October 31.