The menacing role of a dalam leader, played by Ajay in Virodhi has become the talking point in the industry. He looked like he was born to play that role. But Ajay informs he was not even the first choice for this role; he was one of the third options. He was finalised after a gruelling audition.
Virodhi is being appreciated by the intelligentsia, but the common man is not able to embrace the film immediately. Ajay says such films will take at least a week to connect to the audience. “There is emotion in Virodhi that will catch like wildfire. Films such as these have a repeat value,” feels Ajay.
The actor revelled in the role given to him as all along his career, he got to portray only one aggressive emotion. Here, he had to underplay his role, hide his cunning, conflicting, manipulative thoughts, deceive his members but at the same time let the audience know his nature. Showing such variations was indeed tough. Ajay reiterates that it is not a Naxal film, Naxalism is just a background; it's about the impact of a bad leader on his group and the interaction of the members within.
He cites the scene where he orders mercy killing of a senior member in the dalam as his favourite. He adds, “The audience too concurred with the suggestion. It gives us an element of satisfaction when you take the viewers along with you and have them believe in you. There was a lot of pressure on me though, as this is a character that would run the entire film and I didn't want people to say I didn't meet the expectations.”
The actor is all praise for Srikant who played a journalist and says he saw the film as a story and didn't worry about his role. The unit of the film have more reasons to celebrate as Virodhi 's set to be screened in Indian Panorama.
Not the one to rest on his laurels, Ajay is looking forward to his forthcoming films. He is playing Nitya Menen's brother in Nitin's Ishq , a patriot in Kannada film Saradhi , a villain in a Tamil movie Velayudham andBejawada Rowdeelu and a possible role in the remake of Dabbang . In his repertoire of 90 films, he says he's got calls complimenting him for his work in about 15 films, “I usually receive very few calls after my releases. But after Virodhi , the phone has not stopped ringing. I am glad my work has been appreciated.”
