I saw death in front of my eyes: Vishal

Vishal, who has been lying low for the last few months, was in the city to promote his upcoming high action commercial flick Action directed by Sundar C.  The movie will have a simultaneous release in Telugu with the same title.

The actor who looked calm and composed started by saying, "It is not enough just being a socially conscious person, but making money is more important, which I learnt from Sundar C. He made me understand the equation in life - more than an actor, I tried to a lot of things for the welfare of the industry. However, I realised concentrating on my career is the need of the hour, and the best of the best is reserved for me hereafter. Sense Prevails."

Talking about Action, the biggest budget project in his career, Vishal says, "Action is Sundar C's vision. He wanted to do a film like MGR's Ulagam Suttrum Vaalibhan and this films is an answer to it. We have shot in multiple countries. When he narrated the script, I felt this film would take me to next level. He has given me the best opportunity to bring out the best in me."

"Sundar C is a director without any ego. If someone wants to learn about cinema, they should work with him. As an assistant director also, I learnt a lot and will use all the nuances in my other films. This film is an eye-opener. I have decided to do one film a year with Sundar, so that my mind and health will be good," he said.

Having performed several high-octane stunts without a body double, the Sandakozhi actor recalls a nightmarish experience. "The film has the most number of action sequences ever in my career. In fact, stunt master duo Anbariv and Sundar suggested body substitutes for some of the risky stunts. I didn't budge. And while performing a particular bike stunt sequence, I saw death in front of my eyes (shrugs). As per the shot, I would ride a one-ton ATV Bike at full speed and reverse it suddenly and hit the villains. While reversing, the bike toppled and fell on me and that day I thought I was finished. By God's grace, though I hurt my leg and hand, it was not serious and I resumed shooting in a couple of days."

On his co-star Tamannah, he said, "For an actress of her big stature, she could have easily said no to the perilous stunts. But she made those extra efforts and was too good. The chemistry between us in action blocks worked very well and better than in romantic songs."

Heaping laurels on yet another co-actress Akanksha Puri, he said, "She plays an assassin. I want to say sorry to her.  It is the first time that I have hit a woman on-screen several times and it was Akanksha. At least for males, we used harness, guard and pads inside shirts. But, her costume was only a top without any such protection. Despite her being injured may times, she was very cooperative and continued the shoot. Hats off!"