By Haricharan Pudipeddi
Chennai, April 20 (IANS): Actor Nakul, who was recently seen in sleeper hit "Tamiluku En Ondrai Azhuthavum" and has been part of the Tamil industry for over a decade, says critical success doesn't matter anymore as everybody has become money minded.

"Today, I don't think critical success matters anymore. It has to be commercial success. Producers have become very moolah-conscious, especially with the entry of big studios and corporates. When you take all these factors into consideration, you ought to have a good film to survive," Nakul told IANS.

"If a new hero is coming into the market, he has to create an impact with the box office business; otherwise it's tough to survive. Becoming a hero is easy, but staying one in the top league is extremely tough," he said.

Basking in the success of his latest film, Nakul says he has been waiting since 2009 for a hit.

"I accepted 'Tamiluku Ena' merely as an obligation when the producer of my last film, 'Naan Rajavaga Pogiren', which didn't do well, came back to me with an offer. I was touched by his gesture. And when I heard the script, I was blown away and decided I had to do this film," he said.

"I knew there was something about the film that'll work in our favour but I never anticipated this kind of success, which even got me appreciation from some industry bigwigs such as A.R. Murugadoss and Shankar," he said, and added that a hit is welcome anytime in one's career.

Nakul also believes that "Tamiluku Ena" was more like a test for him, and that its success gave him the reassurance that he is on the right track in his career. It also made him realise that it's perfectly alright to wait for the right script to come along.

Having made his cinematic debut in filmmaker Shankar-directed 2003 Tamil film "Boys", Nakul has only starred in eight films so far.

Other popular actors such as Siddharth, Bharath and music composer S.S Thaman who worked with him in "Boys" have already worked in over 20 films.

Nakul says he doesn't know why he couldn't do more films.

"I believe luck plays a major part in this industry. See, I can only choose from the offers I get. I don't have a long queue of directors outside my house waiting to cast me. I've always been more inclined towards quality than quantity. But I'm really happy with my career and I have no complaints," he said.

Is he jealous of the fact that his friends who started their careers alongside him have been more successful?

"I'm actually proud of my friends. Since 'Boys', they were extremely committed and had planned what they want to do next. I've never planned my career the way people usually do. It was on the last day on the sets of 'Boys' that I asked myself what I want to do next," he said.

A few years ago when Nakul wasn't getting many offers, he took up singing to keep himself occupied.

"My film career didn't take off after 'Boys' the way I had planned. Singing was again more like an obligation as I couldn't say no to people who requested me to sing. But it's true I took up singing when I felt everything was going down at one point.

"It is because of singing that I got my first offer as hero. I sang the song 'X-Machi' from 'Ghajini' with a singer called Mathangi, who called me for an interview to a private channel. It was here that I was spotted by the wife of director Prasad, who offered me the lead in 'Kadhalil Vizhunthen'.

"Singing kept me alive, but that wasn't what I wanted to do," he added.

Despite his share of hits and flops, Nakul says it has always been a constant struggle in the industry.

He will next be seen in Tamil comedy "Narathan".