What does it really mean to live life on your own terms without being defined by fame, money, relationships or the image society creates for us ?

In this candid and thought-provoking conversation, Arvind Swamy returns to the Gobinath Podcast for Enum Naan 2.0 — continuing a conversation that began almost two years ago and exploring the questions, experiences and ideas that have shaped the way he looks at life.

Arvind speaks openly about why he prioritizes experiences over maintaining an image, why he refuses to restrict himself to a particular identity, and why he doesn’t feel the pressure to keep acting simply because people might forget him. He reflects on success, failure, legacy, fame and the freedom to make choices based on what genuinely interests him.

The conversation also explores his understanding of money and wealth. Arvind shares why earning money and building wealth are two different things, why financial freedom creates the freedom to make choices, and why wealth is ultimately about more than money.

Relationships and family become an important part of the conversation as well. Arvind talks about trust, communication, emotional validation, giving partners space, and why silence should never be used as a punishment against someone you love. He also reflects on parenting, his relationship with his children, and the importance of taking care of your own well-being so that you can be present for your family.

Arvind opens up about loss and healing too. He speaks about losing his mother, finding his way through grief, learning to take life one day at a time, and accepting that life continues to move forward. He also reflects on fame and recognition, and why the past should remain a reference rather than something that determines what comes next.

The conversation moves into business, ideas and AI, where Arvind discusses his entrepreneurial journey, his curiosity about technology, and the possibilities he sees in AI and the future.

He also shares his approach to learning and reading — including why he deliberately reads ideas he doesn’t necessarily agree with, how changing your perspective can lead to better understanding, and why curiosity continues to drive him.

And after his previous recommendation of The Psychology of Money had such a strong impact, Arvind returns with another book recommendation — The Courage to Be Disliked — and shares the ideas from Alfred Adler’s psychology that resonated with him.

Topics Covered:

• Arvind Swamy’s return to the Gobinath Podcast after two years
• Why he prioritizes experiences over maintaining an image
• Freedom, identity and refusing to be restricted by expectations
• Why he doesn’t believe you can move forward based on your legacy
• His definition of success and the freedom to make your own choices
• The difference between earning money and building wealth
• Money, savings, investments and financial freedom
• Trust, communication and emotional validation in relationships
• Why silence should never be used to punish someone you love
• Marriage, parenting, family and giving each other space
• Loss, grief, healing and learning to move forward
• Fame, recognition and accepting that life keeps moving
• His approach to failure, learning and changing perspectives
• Business, entrepreneurship and his interest in AI
• Technology, creativity and the future
• Why he reads books he doesn’t necessarily agree with
• The ideas behind The Courage to Be Disliked
• The impact of his previous recommendation, The Psychology of Money
• Curiosity, learning and living life on your own terms

A conversation about money, freedom, relationships, family, loss, success, failure, business, AI, books and the many questions that shape the way we live.

Also available on YouTube:
Channel Link 👇🏻

The Gobinath podcast

What does it really mean to see people, life and cinema beyond the labels society gives us ?

In this candid and thought-provoking conversation, director Ram opens up about his 20-year journey in Tamil cinema, the ideas and experiences that have shaped his filmmaking, his approach to human characters, and the way he looks at life, relationships and society.

Ram speaks openly about the importance of “unlearning” as we grow and evolve. He reflects on how our understanding of love, relationships, gender and society changes with time, and why letting go of old beliefs can be just as important as learning something new.

The conversation also explores why Ram refuses to categorise people as simply “good” or “bad.” He explains why his characters are often ordinary, flawed, insecure, lonely or misunderstood, and why he believes these are not necessarily “flawed” people, but natural human beings. He shares his fascination with the lives of people who are rarely noticed or represented in mainstream cinema, and why every person has a story worth understanding.

Ram revisits some of the central ideas behind his films, including Kattradhu Thamizh, Thanga Meenkal, Taramani, Peranbu, Parandhu Po and Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai. He discusses alienation, learning disabilities, relationships, urban loneliness, parenting, marginalised lives and the different worlds he tries to explore through each film.

He also speaks about the relationship between anger, love and affection for society. Ram explains why he consciously avoids self-pity and excessive melodrama in his writing, and why he wants his characters to experience pain, conflict and struggle without being presented as objects of pity.

The conversation moves into men, women and modern relationships as well. Ram shares why he has little interest in portraying “alpha males,” why insecurity and vulnerability are closer to the reality of ordinary men, and how the women in his own life have influenced the way he writes female characters. He also reflects on how the younger generation is approaching love, freedom, relationships and breakups differently.

Love becomes another major theme as Ram discusses Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai, the ancient Tamil understanding of love through Tholkappiyam, the importance of waiting, and why love extends far beyond romance—to parents, children, friends, pets, places, memories and even familiar aromas.

Ram also opens up about the long journey of Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai, the challenges involved in bringing a film to audiences, and the unique filmmaking process behind the film, including its train-set sequences, CG animals, different eras, forests and coastal landscapes.

Topics Covered:

• Ram’s 20-year journey in Tamil cinema

• The importance of unlearning and evolving with time

• Why he refuses to label people as “good” or “bad”

• His approach to flawed, ordinary and overlooked characters

• The lives and stories rarely represented in mainstream cinema

• The ideas behind Kattradhu Thamizh, Thanga Meenkal, Taramani, Peranbu and Parandhu Po

• Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai and exploring a completely new cinematic world

• Anger, love, affection and cinema’s relationship with society

• Why he consciously avoids self-pity and excessive melodrama

• Men, women, insecurity and the idea of “alpha males”

• How modern relationships and love are changing

• The different forms of love beyond romantic relationships

• Tholkappiyam and the timeless nature of love

• The challenges behind releasing Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai

• The technical and creative process behind the film

A conversation about cinema, human nature, ordinary lives, love, relationships, society, creativity and the courage to look at the world differently.

Also available on YouTube:
Channel Link 👇🏻

The Gobinath Podcast

What does it really take to build a successful career in cinema while staying true to yourself ?

In this candid conversation, actor and producer Ashok Selvan opens up about his journey in Tamil cinema, his struggles with success and failure, his ambition to become more than just a “good actor,” and the bigger dreams he has for himself and the industry.

Ashok speaks openly about being labelled an “underrated actor” and why he believes that being underrated is, to some extent, his own responsibility. He discusses the difference between being a good actor and becoming a commercially successful actor, the importance of marketing and audience connect, and why talent alone may not be enough to build a lasting career in cinema.

The conversation also explores his journey as a producer and why he decided to create the stories he wanted to tell. Ashok talks about the balance between creative freedom and commercial success, the lessons he learned from films that worked and didn’t work, and why he believes bigger dreams demand bigger risks.

He also shares his ambition to take Tamil cinema to a global audience. Reflecting on his experiences outside India, Ashok explains why he wants Tamil films and stories to reach a much wider international audience.

On a more personal note, Ashok opens up about his ADHD diagnosis and how understanding himself better changed the way he looked at overthinking, self-guilt, productivity and his own expectations. He speaks about learning self-acceptance and realizing that you don’t have to be perfect to grow.

Ashok also shares his perspective on rejection and failure, explaining why he no longer takes rejection personally and how these experiences have shaped his approach towards his career and life.

Beyond cinema, the conversation explores love, marriage and relationships. Ashok speaks about equality, friendship, personal space and growing together as partners, while sharing his thoughts on his relationship with Keerthi.

Topics Covered:

• Ashok Selvan’s journey in Tamil cinema

• Being “underrated” and taking responsibility for his career

• Talent, marketing, audience connect and commercial success

• Hits, flops, rejection and failure

• His journey into film production and creative freedom

• Taking risks and dreaming bigger

• His ambition to take Tamil cinema global

• ADHD, overthinking, self-guilt and self-acceptance

• Love, marriage, equality and personal space

• His relationship with Keerthi

• His ambitions and what he wants to achieve next

A conversation about cinema, ambition, failure, self-discovery, relationships and the courage to dream bigger.

Also available on YouTube:
Channel Link 👇🏻

The Gobinath Podcast