A sweet debut to cherish

Vijo Vijayakumar had never dreamt of an acting career. In fact, the opportunity came knocking at his door when he was writing a script. Vijo, who portrayed Jinto, the simpleton but a go-getter man of the recent release Ladoo, says his friendship with director Arungeorge and scriptwriter Sagar Sathyan earned him a role in the movie.

“Arun and Sagar had done a social satire series called Double Omelette, which was aired on YouTube. I was one of the characters in it. That was the only on-screen experience I had before Ladoo. The bitterness and deliciousness of Double Omlette helped me get to the sweetness of Ladoo,” laughs Vijo.

Vijo, a Thrissur native, used to be a medical representative — a job he had to take up due to his circumstances.

During free time, he used to write. He wrote the screenplay for a short film titled May Dinam. “I love writing and May Dinam was my first serious work. I have known Arun and Sagar since then, and dreamt of working with them one day. Since Arun and Sagar were working on YouTube videos, which were satires on socio-cultural issues, they gave me the chance to act in them. The YouTube channel and the videos did well,” shares Vijo.

Vijo says the character in Ladoo was relatable for him. “The character, Jinto, is very energetic, fearless and has his own unwise moments. Even I am energetic and talkative. So I could relate to the character. Actually, Jinto is just opposite to the character I did in Double Omelette. During filming, Arun and Vinay chettan (Vinay Forrt) helped me improvise some dialogues. Arun is a person who always comes up with new ideas, and I consider it as a blessing to start my acting career with him. Also my co-stars, Vinay Forrt, Balu Varghese, Shabareesh Varma, Dileesh Pothan and Gayathri Ashok, helped me do really well.”  

First time is always special. Vijo says it was a moment he could not describe in words when he saw himself on the big screen for the first time. “That moment, I was speechless. During the interval, Vini Vishwa Lal, the scriptwriter of Theevandi, came to me and appreciated me. I was so happy. I was anxious about how people are going to respond. However, I received lots of positive feedback.”

Vijo, who is fondly called Mani by everyone, says he is working on a script that he is hopeful of completing very soon.