“Girls, girls, girls.” They cry in unison when asked them what they discuss in their time off work. These three could easily be mistaken for good buddies. Except they’re not just that. They are three leading actors who, with half a dozen films among them, rule Kollywood. And with upcoming Tamil film Jeeva , Vishnu, Arya and Vishal join hands professionally. And in between all the fun and madness, work does get done!
At a special photo shoot and interview for The Hindu , it’s the same madness that rules. With Vishnu being the youngest of the three, he’s the target of all jokes; both Vishal and Arya pull his leg more than once.
“Jiiva has gone out of town….that’s why he couldn’t come for this interview,” starts off Arya, when asked to talk about their latest project. All of them laugh-for, Arya is obviously not referring to the film, but one of their actor-colleagues.
This kind of camaraderie has to be seen to be believed. For, despite competition between them, there’s a healthy give-and-take between the three.
And it is cricket, interestingly, that has brought them together. If the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) gets them together on the field, it’s the sport-on which their Suseenthiran-directed film Jeeva is based-that gets them bonding big-time now.
“Everything in my life has happened due to cricket,” says Vishnu, who started off aspiring to be a batsman and is, even today, one of the star players in the League, “I did my first film well thanks to the sport-and made many friends in the film industry because of that.”
“Oh yes, he plays a lot of games like that,” winks Arya, “Vishnu has many characters in him during CCL weekends. It’s like the three avatars of Vikram in Anniyan- that’s how he changes.” The three guffaw, before Arya continues, “But seriously, when you have a film in which Vishnu plays a cricketer, it becomes all the more relatable. There’s nothing fake about it; he’s known to audiences as a cricketer too. That’s a big plus.”
When the cricket season starts for the stars, film schedules are given a break as they slug it out on the field. “During those times, there’s a common complaint in our homes,” reveals Vishal, “They complain that it’s like we’re still in college and hostel. We live together and never come home! At times, I think our families secretly want us to lose in the preliminary stages itself… and just get back to normal living!”
When they’re together, what’s the topic of conversation? “Well, it’s mostly never about movies. Of course, if there’s some good work in other industries, we talk about it. But we talkabout all the things that normal youngsters chat about…”
That sometimes also includes sharing interesting ideas and scripts. “If there’s a script that I can’t do, I sometimes pass it on,” he says, “And, we always keep in touch to ensure that something bad doesn’t happen. When good happens to one of us, we just know it…we feel it. But if I feel that there’s something not right with Jammy (Arya) or Vishnu, I openly say it.”
Talk about competition between the three, and Vishal shrugs it off. “We’ve never thought of it as competition,” he grins, “Our only competition is at the gym-on who’ll work out better! While growing up, Jammy was the best looking of the lot. All the girls used to look only at him!” But now, thanks to the increase in the number of films, Friday could belong to anybody. “When our films hit screens, we always want the best one to win.”
For now, they want Vishnu to win-and win big. When this youngster, who was born to a top Tamil Nadu cop, started acting in 2009, he was an introvert. And it’s colleagues such as Arya and Vishal, he says, who have helped him change. “Once I started bonding with these guys, I understood how they’ve come up in the industry. I still remember the day when I spoke to Jammy for an hour outside Vishal’s house. He told me about how he entered the film industry and how it’s essential to keep trying till that the big break happens. This never-give-up attitude… that’s something I’ve learnt from these seniors,” he says. “But there are so many other bad things I’ve learnt from them that I can’t say on record!” he laughs.
In an industry where people are usually content with their core areas, Arya and Vishal are two youngsters who try to look beyond, and explore other aspects as well. The latter has recently launched an audio label (“It was out of angst; I wanted to personally see what was wrong with the music industry.”) and has plans of directing a film someday. “Did you know that he (Vishal) was an assistant director?” asks Arya, “We entered the industry as actors, but over time, we’ve gained the confidence to venture into other things. I’m confident that in the future, Vishal will direct a film… and hopefully, Vishnu and I will get to act in it!” And the laughs continue…
QUOTES box
I got much recognition as an actor after Avan Ivan . And that film happened thanks to Jammy (Arya)…
- Vishal
We have just one phone. But Vishnu has three phones; names starting from A to S saved in one and the rest in others. But thambi, unna nambi than da naanga irukom .
- Arya
These seniors have taught me the never-give-up attitude. But, they’ve also taught me several bad things I can’t say on record…
- Vishnu
