Living life on his terms
Thalaivasal Vijay is a happy man these days
By : s subhakeerthana
Update: 2015-11-05 00:34 GMT
Thalaivasal Vijay is a happy man these days and it seems he’s the favourite choice for filmmakers when it comes to essaying roles of saints and reformers. The actor, who played Narayana Guru in the Malayalam film Yugapurushan, has now donned the role of Shirdi Sai Baba in a film titled Aboorva Mahan.
“When the producers approached me for the role, I instantly agreed because I believed such role is like an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My parents and I are ardent Baba devotees and I am thankful to the director for considering me to play such a role. Playing Baba onscreen made me realise how blessed I am. I felt a positive divine vibration when I was working on the film,” Vijay tells us and adds he was quite sceptical initially about whether he could capture the essence, mannerisms and body language of Baba, as there was very little reference material available on him.
“I was content after the film was completed successfully because I did a lot of research for my role and it’s not like any other character. I made sure I got the body language right before I shot the scenes. I read Baba’s biography though I didn’t see any video as to how he actually looked. The film revolves around Baba’s miracles and when I shot, people showered their praise on me and said they could really see and imagine how the godman was in real,” Vijay smiles. The actor, who’s awaiting the release of films like Kadal Kudiraigal, Meendum Oru Kadhal Kadhai and Sowcarpettai, says he plays an anti-nuclear activist in the former.
“Meendum... revolves around a Muslim family, and is a remake of the Malayalam film Thattathin Marayathu. In Sowcarpettai, I play Shrikanth’s dad,” Vijay adds. So, ask him what’s next? Vijay says he’s determined to do varied roles in Tamil cinema. “I feel I should have done many roles but I was really busy guiding my children, who’re international swimmers. My attention was entirely on them, but it doesn’t mean that I took cinema lightly. I grabbed whatever came on my way. Just that the ‘family man’ in me took over the ‘actor’ in me,” he laughs. Looking back at the journey of more than two decades, how does he feel?
“Be it Thevar Magan or Magalir Mattum, people still remember me for what I have performed and when it comes to characters, I don’t want to restrict myself. As long as they are performance oriented, I am cool. I would like to do more movies. Also I have been thinking about direction for some time now but at present, I can’t do it. In the near future, I think it’s on cards,” Vijay concludes.
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