Tamil actor Vijay would never forget the euphoric welcome extended by his fans in the city on Saturday.
The premises of Saritha theatre, which was the venue for the trailer release of his latest flick ‘Velayudham,' was jam-packed hours before the event.
The festival atmosphere turned euphoric when the sedan carrying the actor rolled onto the theatre premises. Young fans of the actor, who came from faraway places, whistled and screamed in joy when the actor waved ‘hello' to them before entering the theatre for the trailer release. Police and the organisers had a tough time controlling the crowd.
The actor himself admitted that he was overwhelmed by the response of his fans. “I will never forget this journey,” he told reporters at an interaction.
Vijay loves to call his fans “friends.” “I always want my fans to be present at the pooja, audio release, and trailer release of my films,” he said.
The excitement among his die-hard fans was natural. Touted as the costliest-ever Vijay film, the movie is expected to face stiff competition from actor Surya's ‘Ezham Arivu' at the box-office this Diwali. Supporters of the popular hero firmly believe that ‘Velayudham' directed by Raja will live up to the hype.
Vijay said that ‘Velayudham' was not a superhero film, as reported in a section of the media. “The hero is a common man who assumes a superhero image because of certain situations that he faces in life. We have given a realistic treatment for the story,” he said.
Asked why he is not taking up character roles in his career, Vijay was honest to admit that film-makers always offered mass entertainers to him. “My hits like ‘Pokkiri' and ‘Vettaikaran' fall in this category. But I am waiting for a character role. An actor should try all types of his roles,” he said.
Vijay is also elated about his forthcoming movie, ‘Nanban' directed by Shankar of ‘Endhiran' fame. “It was pleasure working with him. ‘Nanban' also gave me the chance to work with my friends Jeeva and Srikanth. It was also a learning experience partnering with senior actor Satyaraj,” he said.
Giving credit for Malayalam film directors Fazil and Siddique for reviving his career through the films ‘Kathaluku Mariyathai' and ‘Friends' respectively, Vijay said that Kollywood had immense respect for movies made in Malayalam thanks to the realistic treatment of various subjects here.
The actor, who had earlier revealed his desire to work with leading actors Mammootty and Mohanlal, said in a lighter vein that they were not inviting him to Mollywood. “If they do, I will be happy to come,” Vijay said before wrapping up the press conference.
