The Indian media cannot get enough of this Southern superstar who debuts on the Hindi screen this Friday with Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. Vikram has ruled the screens of Tamil cinema for decades and now moves onto capture the Hindi audience’s attention and adoration.
One common question the actor was faced with during interviews for the film was, how was the experience of working with Mr and Mrs Bachchan, “She’s such a meticulous actress. She’s excited about her work, keenly follows the director’s instructions and keeps track of even minute details about her performance. I have known Abhi and Ash for sometime now, but I was astonished by Ash’s dedication. Kudos to her for choosing a role with substance, which is a far cry from the usual glam roles. My friend Abhishek also rocks.” Clearly the actor is rather smitten by Ash!
Speaking about his dual roles in both the Hindi (Vikram plays the role of Dev) and the Tamil (Vikram plays the role of Veera) versions, the actor was quick to share his delight with leading tabloids about bagging such a role, “It’s a larger-than-life role and was emotionally and physically exhausting. But all efforts were worth taking, as roles like these rarely come by. Learning Hindi was a daunting task and I told the associate director to repeat the lines, even if he had to do it a million times, until I get it right.” He also hopes that his director, Mani Ratnam, finally gets appreciation with a much overdue National Award.
Vikram continued to answer questions to the media regarding Raavan and who he thinks the will the film appeal to, “First of all, it doesn’t deal with a region-specific issue and focuses on interpersonal relationships between three principle characters and their changing equations. The scintillating music and breathtaking visuals add to its universal appeal. The film has nothing to do with the Ramayana. There are also shades of Mahabharata in our film. It’s a contemporary saga about the efforts of three characters to escape from a jungle”
So, what is the driving force of this fantastic actor who now has a wider range of audiences to choose from, is it the number digits on the cheque? “Money is important, but it’s not the only driving factor for me. I informed Malayalam filmmakers, that I can do a film for free, if the role excites me. Although Tollywood filmmakers are offering me a bomb, I haven’t found the right script to give my nod.” [Writers note: Malayalam films traditionally are thought to be more realistic and technical enhanced then other branches of cinema in India, however at the same time are mostly under financed. Telugu cinema aka Tollywood is thought to be the South Indian Film Industry that churns out the most high budget films in par with Hindi cinema].
Now all that’s left is to see is the magic of this Southern superstar on screen this Friday when Raavan and Raavanan finally releases in cinemas worldwide!
