Shyam

Shaam Sudeen is a Tamil Muslim model turned actor in Kollywood. His screen name is Shaam. His acting career began with a cameo in SJ Suryah's Khushi as a friend of Vijay. His first proper film was 12B (a knockoff of the British film, Sliding Doors) 12B was also the directorial debut for the director Jeeva, who then was a leading camera man. In 12B, his co-stars were Simran and Jyothika, the two leading actresses at that time. The movie had an average gross though the music by Harris Jeyaraj received critical acclaim.

Shaam's film Iyarkai, directed by debutant S. P. Jananathan and ably supported by cinematographer, N. K. Ekambaram, won the National Best Picture Award (Tamil, 2003) with its unique storyline and departure from cliched Tamil film romances. The shoestring budget film, a realistic portrayal of seafarers in between commission, through its excellent camerawork and music score by Vidyasagar added to the stature of the film's cast and crew but due to its delayed release was under-appreciated at the box office.

His later films showed promise but were yet to make the box-office. Shaam, after an effort to make better story selections, improved his image as his films got better returns at the box-office and helped him maintain his reputation. His recent movie Ullam Ketkumae was a commercial success. He was also a part of Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai. Shaam is married to his friend and college sweetheart, Kashish. When he was a model, Shaam nursed Bollywood dreams, but he got his first big break in Tamil cinema.He made his debut in 2000 with 12B, the debut directorial venture of well-known cinematographer Jeeva, co-starring Jyothika and Simran. It was a dream debut. Shaam was hailed as the next big thing in Tamil cinema. But somewhere along the way, his magic waned. A big box-office hit eluded him till Ullam Ketkume happened recently -- once again a Jeeva film -- a film that had to wait for a year to see the light of day. Now, Shaam is back with ABCD. And, he is nervous. Reviewers have given him the thumbs up, but the box-office verdict is not yet in. How do you describe your journey from 12B to ABCD? As an actor, I have grown. From the 10 films I have done so far, I have learnt a lot and gained in experience. For a person with no formal training, these films have been a tremendous learning experience. Is formal training necessary for an actor? To a great extent. If you can afford it, it's very good. But when I was trying for films, I didn't have the money to go and train myself in fights or dance. I did a course on diction, dialogue delivery in Hindi, etc in Bombay because I was trying for a break in Hindi. I feel if you are looking at acting as a full-fledged career and if you have the money, training is absolutely essential before you come into films.