step back and relax when you are working in this industry new trends and new stars will keep coming up thats inevitable let it all happen over the years i have tried doing movies that follow the current fad and a lot of people are happy with that too but frankly the majority of my audience feel let down so id rather stick to my forte i understand i am now part of this group that is expected to make mass moviesso are you content with making mass movies again when you are in the industry for this long you are bound to repeat yourself you get bored of your characters i am where i am now because of the audience and its my responsibility to give them something new with every film over the past few years i have been insisting in fact begging the same from every writer and director who come to me try something different and refreshingkalabhavan mani who passed away recently was one of your close friends we shared a friendship sans secrets from the day we became friends i could call him up anytime and he would be there by my side so in a way i lost my biggest strength i am aware that a lot of controversies are going on surrounding his death but his loss is personal to me in fact loss would be too petty a word to describe the void he has left behind he was extremely talented but he got dragged into the wrong company most of us were against some of his friendships and had asked him to stay away from all of that but he just wouldnt listen i placed a great dream of mine in front of him when i decided to build my theatre in his hometown chalakudy i was confident that mani was there and he would ensure that nothing goes wrong i have often been amazed at how he went out of his way and found time to help the people in chalakudy i have eaten a lot of food that he had cooked for me even while travelling during our initial years in the industry i used to sleep on his lap and he wouldnt even flinch or let me know if his legs go numb he cared that much for his friends the moment i saw his lifeless body i lost every bit of strength i had in meof late you are active in social work aiding kanchanamala and also helping an accident victim in dubai and procuring him a job i dont go out of my way to do all of that it is just that sometimes i get to be that bridge between people and help them out in any way i can see i am a common man be it in my looks thoughts or lifestyle i staunchly believe that i was handpicked by god and given these privileges so that i can also help