Vishal as director seeks out Vijay

When Vishal, who was assisting Arjun in film directing, was launched a few years ago as a hero, he was considered the dark horse of Kollywood and a direct competitor to Vijay with a string of hits.

Today, he is a star to reckon with and has also started his production house. Looks like the urge to wield the megaphone comes to the fore intermittently and Vishal openly admits that Vijay is his first choice when he decides to direct a movie.

“Whenever I conceive of a script, the first actor who comes to mind is Vijay. He has given opportunities to many newcomers (first time directors). I have been a big fan of Vijay even before coming to the industry, I used to watch his films back to back,” he says.

“I usually narrate the story first to Vijay; the next would be Vijay Sethupathi who is equally considerate with debut filmmakers,” he adds.

Vishal is working hard on fine-tuning his Tamil New Year offering, Naan Sigappu Manithan. The film has already garnered attention for the Vishal-Lakshmi Menon kiss underwater.