Keeping things simple

Nothing succeeds like success and Vinay Forrt’s widely-appreciated role of ‘Vimal Sir’ in the blockbuster Premam as well as the awards he is getting for his portrayal is a vindication of the hard work he has put in. His upcoming film Hello Namasthe has a jackfruit playing the central character.

Smiling, Vinay adds, “The film is very simple and has a story line that everyone can relate to. The film is about two friends who are RJs and also neighbours. It is a look at how small issues create ego problems between friends and how society exploits such situations and blows it up”.  

Talking about the jackfruit, Vinay adds, “The problems start off from the jackfruit tree.” The film also has a personal significance for Vinay and he explains, “My co-star Sanju and I are actually good friends in real life so the chemistry between us is very natural. That friendship comes across on screen too”.

Though Premam brought out the comic side of Vinay, he has been trying to break away from that image by attempting serious roles. A film that has the performer in Vinay excited is the upcoming film Godse and Vinay exults, “I play a drunkard who adopts the Gandhian way of life after taking part in a radio programme based on Gandhian principles. As an actor, that role has given me scope to explore various facets of my talent. It is an intense role and one where I have a lot of emotional scenes and I can even term it as my career best performance. I am a teetotaller in real life but this film has me playing a heavy drunkard.”

Kismet, Kammatti Paadom and a film with Shanil Mohammed are his upcoming films. Has Premam given his career an adrenaline shot? Vinay candidly answers, “Cinema is a business as well as an art form. From the business point of view, it is only when you do commercially successful films that your character gets noticed and more offers come your way. I have been in the industry for the past six years but Premam caught the imagination of the viewers like nothing else. Be it a public function or a college inauguration, the love I get is a reflection and reach of the character I played onscreen.  I am not a person to categorise films as art and commercial but it is when you work in off-beat films that you get satisfaction as an actor. You have to swim against the tide and challenge yourself and that happens in serious films. As an artist, it is when you stretch yourself that you grow and I try to balance both offbeat and commercial films.”