Every body is talking about Victor, the anti-hero from Yennai Arindhaal. And, Arun Vijay, who played Victor is a happy man. “I feel light,” he says. Congratulatory tweets have been pouring in. Friends in the industry, well-wishers, family and the audience are all praises for his performance. “It’s been phenomenal the way the antagonist character has been received. They are happy, shocked, and some of them are stunned with the impact Victor has made,” he says. His father, veteran actor Vijaykumar gave him a tight hug after watching the movie. So did Ajith, who plays the hero in the film. “Ajith sir treats me like a brother. He is someone who has come this far after a lot of hardship. He’s been encouraging and supportive of me. After watching the film, he hugged me and told me that the performance is going to take me places and his words have come true,” says Vijay.
Yennai Arindhaal , directed by Gautam Vasudeva Menon, is a cop story, where Arun Vijay is the villain. “From day one, I knew it’s a big film. Knowing Ajith Sir would steal the show, I gave in more than 100 per cent. I was very cautious too as one wrong emotion can make things go terribly wrong on the screen.”
He credits the director for achieving a fine balance between the hero and the anti-hero in the film. “Gautam sculpted Victor. He is not your cliché villain. He has an emotional side to him. When I play a protagonist in my next film, these lessons are going to come in handy.”
Victor was an intense role, Vijay says. “I thank Gautam sir for the confidence in me. From my side, I ensured that I gave it my best shot right from style, body language, action and performance. To get the lean, mean look, I followed a vigorous workout schedule. My trainer Sivakumar of World Gym guided me and motivated me all through. In action sequences, we went in for realistic stunts. I love them on my own. In the introductory scene I jump into a moving car and there are scenes with some high intensity running too. Gautam built an element of style around the villain’s character. Though it was a tough decision to play a negative role, the effort has paid off.”
He rates Victor as the role of a lifetime and says that Yennai Arindhaal is a breakthrough film in his career. “Some of my previous films such as Jananam , Thadaiyara Thaaka , and Malai Malai were successful .Malai Malai where I played the hero, a village guy, ran for 100 days . ThadayaraThaaka received 34 lakh hits on YouTube, the highest for any Tamil film. But, the same didn’t happen on the theatrical release of the film. As an actor, I’ve been waiting for this moment, of being a part of a blockbuster where your character is spoken about. I should thank Victor for that.” In his next film, Vaa Deal , Arun Vijay will be seen in an action-romance genre.
Prior to the release of YA, Arun Vijay stayed at home staring at the ceiling. “I was nervous about how the audience would react. More so since I was playing a villain against a big star like Ajith. Finally, on the day of release, I went to watch the film with our production guys. When I came out, there was a crowd of some 800 people, they lifted me up in the air and cheered on. They clapped and went ‘Victor’ ‘Victor’…. It was an emotional moment and it choked me out.”
Arun Vijay wants to wait and watch now. “I don’t want to take hasty decisions and pick up every script that comes my way. It’s my long time wish to play a cop. I want to see if I can get a role like that too. The success of YA is a morale-booster. I feel more confident as an actor now. I want to stay calm and live the moment before moving on,” he says.
