Q: On your father's role in your career…

Prashant: He is my universe. My friend, philosopher and guide! Today if I'm sitting here and talking to you, it is mainly because of him. He knows how every department works, since he has been in the industry as an actor-producer-distributor and director. I'm lucky. He is like God's gift to me.

Q: On your fixation for Mumbai heroines…

Prashant: See, it has been like this. My debut was in a Tamil Film. My second film was in Malayalam ('Perunthachan'). My third was a Hindi film ('I Love You'). And my fourth was a Telugu film. I touched all the regions almost simultaneously. So my market became vast, and every producer who signed me cashed in on this. That's the main reason why my producers and directors selected heroines from Mumbai who fitted both in the North and South, and also had international appeal.

Q: On your choice of roles…

Prashant: Frankly, till date I really didn't have any ambition or thought that I should do a particular type of role. Whatever role was offered to me, I got involved in it and tried to do it to the best of my ability. That was the first phase where I was trying to learn the basics of acting. Now I'm into my second phase. I've come to a stage where I need to think what I should do and how I should go about it. Today I scrutinise every role offered, see how different each is, and whether it offers real challenge to me as an actor. I also make sure that every movie has an inner message. Like, 'Jodi', where the message was that falling in love was not wrong. But make sure you fight for it. In 'Kannethire Thondrinal', it is how you handle the delicate situation, when you fall for a friend's sister. I want my films to be seen by the entire family.

Q: For an artiste what is important - luck, hardwork or talent?

Prashant: It is a combination of all three. Even if you've worked hard and done your best, it depends on luck, and also on how well you've done the role.

Q: Among your contemporaries, who would you consider as competition?

Prashant: There's nothing called competition here. We are a team working in the industry. Again, even if I aim to or strive to, how many films can I do in a year? I can't do all the forty odd films made in a year. It is impossible. I can't do even eight. Again, if it is my film or someone else's film that does well, it is the industry that grows, and I'm happy. We all have to make sure that it's not a race or a competition. The survival of the industry is at stake, and we all should work as part of it to make this survival possible. Thousands of people depend on this industry for their survival. It's not an individual game.

Q: Escalating fees of the artistes is said to be one of the main reasons for the rise in cost of production. What have you to say on this?

Prashant: No one comes to an artiste when he's not doing well. Filmmakers approach him only when he's saleable. Making money is what we are in it for. So it's like 'Make hay while the sun shines'. We don't have insurance schemes or pensions. Do you think anybody will care if anything happens to us? They'll go to the next saleable star. But then today's generation of stars are not that callous. We want to give something back to the industry that has given so much to us. I'm privileged to be working at a time and age when everyone is educated and aware of what they're doing. We are all so accessible today.

Q: On your dance-shows abroad …

Prashant: I've got a very big fan following all over. Today I am where I am, because of these people and I love to do something for them. I love to interact with them, but obviously I can't meet all of them individually. One of the ways is through these shows where I meet them collectively. That's how the idea of these shows started. We're the pioneers of these types of shows here. And the pressure is mounting for more such shows. We've to come up with something new each time. Personally it has done a lot for my P.R. too. For, the VCDs of these shows are marketed all over the world.

Q: How successful have the shows been?

Prashant: Well, the world is talking about them. Like, when they telecast it for the first time on Vijay TV, the TRP ratings were high and no one changed the channel for the entire four hours the programme was on. In London, the entire Tamil population had attended it, and the stadium was so full and the response so great that they were comparing it with the Michael Jackson show held earlier. People were even gatecrashing.

Q: How was it working with directors like Maniratnam and Shanker?
Prashant: Maniratnam is a hard taskmaster. He wants what he wants. It is like, 'I want this for you'. Period. By hook or by crook you've got to deliver it. Shanker is a perfectionist to the core. Like, if he plans a scene, he has a back up of three such scenes ready. If one doesn't work out well, he tries out the others till he gets the result he wants. And for each of these three scenes, he has everything marked and ready, right down to the shoelaces. So perfect! He has done 'Muthalvan', and now he's doing the Hindi version, 'Nayak' and his commitment is such that he's re-writing the entire script.

Q: Your future projects?

Prashant: I have 'Virumbukiren' with Sneha, directed by Sushu Ganeshan, 'Enna Vilai Azhage' with Amisha Patel, directed by Raj Kapoor. 'Chocolate' with Avantika from Goa, directed by Venkatesh. 'Star' with Jyotika, directed by Pravinkant, and 'Majnu' with Rinkie Khanna. The roles are varied and you'll see a different Prashant in each of these films. And they all have great music too!

As a parting shot, says Prashant - How far you can go, how long you can stand, that is the criteria. People come and go. But I'm still in the lead. I've been here for a long time, withstanding all the competition".