Telugu-born Tamil actor Aadhi believes in John Dewey's quote about failure being instructive. So when Oka Vichitram sank at the box office he wasn't unduly upset, he simply took it as a challenge and worked doubly hard. He immediately lost 22 kilos for the role in his first Tamil project for which director Samy had narrated the story. Aadhi grew a beard, tonsured his head, looked anorexic and seemed every bit a real patient infected with HIV. However, minus any media hype at that time, people didn't actually notice how the newcomer looked.
The two films that followed didn't help him much either. Now, his Eeram (Vaishali ) has succeeded in stunning the audience; not only his remarkable and nuanced performance but his fabulous makeover, his physique and the non-filmy cop look have all caught their attention. An interviewer in a television channel had told him that he was very sure that Aadhi would never be able to do the subtle role after the loud and dramatic Mirugam . Stung by the remark, the young actor says he began doubting himself, seriously wanted to get off the loud acting. Then he grabbed director Arivazahgan's offer and the rest is history. Aadhi says that the subtle film is actually a reflection of the director.
Didn't the film glorify ghosts? He quips, “Usually in a horror film, the technicians work on terrifying the audience, here you are made to believe what you see on screen.” The one-film-a year hasn't been planned, he would be happy to have three releases each year, he adds. Buoyed by the success of Vaishali , filmmakers are now simultaneously shooting some scenes in Telugu for his forthcoming period film Aravaan . Based on the Mahabharata, the character Aravaan is born to Arjuna and his concubine. Based on a book set 200 years back, it is about a rare group of men who are endowed with 32 exceptional qualities like love, friendship, sacrifice. Aravaan is one amongst the seven people in the world who possess such a character. Aadhi says the Rs 15 crore budget film will take you to a period 200 years back and bring you back into the theatre. Vasantha Balan who directed Shopping Mall is handling it and Dhanishka and Archana are his love interests.
Son of director Raviraja Pinisetty, Aadhi stayed back in Chennai to complete his engineering when the rest of the industry relocated to Andhra. A very responsible, hard working young man, he recollects what Chiranjeevi once told him about respecting the film industry. He adds, “ Chiranjeevi garu cheppindhi nenu eppuduu paatisthaanu. Cinema industry is like a mother, if we show our disrespect and not disciplined, the fall will be quick.”
