Vivek, who started his career as stand-up comedian, entered Kollywood in 1987, and has completed three decades in the industry. In an interview, the actor — who’s currently basking in the accolades he’s receiving for his latest release, Brindavanam — talks about his journey so far, what made him a socially responsible citizen and the present trends in comedy:
Since when did you decide to focus on comedy tracks with a social message?
After my debut, I had to struggle for seven years to establish myself in the industry. Vadivelu clicked instantly, as he had the rustic style. It was in Thirunelveli (2000) that I tried to bring in socially relevant meaningful messages and also social satire. It worked. Since then, I have tried to create awareness among people.
And your efforts to plant trees is one among them...
APJ Abdul Kalam initiated me into the tree planting mission, and he requested me to plant 10 lakh trees. Once I completed that, he said I must aim at planting one crore saplings. This provided me the opportunity to meet many youngsters. This turned out to be a soul-satisfying experience. I have planted 28,73,000 saplings so far.
What’s your opinion on present-day stand-up comedy?
It is immensely popular, but is loaded with vulgarity and double innuendos. Obscene party jokes and foul words dominate these shows, which, in my opinion, is not a good trend. There should be intelligence in comedy, and be suitable for family audiences.
But Tamil cinema is still coming up with its share of funny lines...
Dark comedy seems to be in today. I believe that comedy brings light into our lives; so, why call it dark comedy? For each generation, a certain kind of comedy will be widely accepted. We had the Goundamani-Senthil combination, which was a rugged and rough version of Laurel and Hardy. These days, I find women laughing for jokes that actually insult them.
Vadivelu and Santhanam emerged as heroes. Why did you not persist in taking that route?
Of course I did try, but I did not succeed. In fact, Radha Mohan approached me to play the hero in his debut film Azhagiya Theeye , but I had to decline due to various reasons. Finally, I did the protagonist role in Naan Than Bala (2014), which I consider to be the best role I have ever done in my career. But it flopped, and went unnoticed. I am yet to overcome my disappointment about that film. This time, when Radha Mohan offered me the role in his Brindavanam , I accepted it. It was after I gave my consent that he went ahead and wrote the script.
You’ve played the hero’s friend for many years now. Have you become choosier about your roles now?
Yes. I can’t do one of the four friends of the hero any longer. I need solid roles that provide scope for performance, even if it is just a few scenes. I would like to work with new-generation directors like Karthik Subbaraj, Nalan Kumarasamy and Seenu Ramasamy. I am keen on doing negative roles. If Superstar’s Moondru Mudichu 2 is ever made, I would like to do the villain role that he did.
So, you are reinventing yourself, so to say?
In my recent films, I have changed my style of acting. In Uthamaputhiran , my dialogues were limited. The focus was only on emoting and reacting to situations. As that clicked, I tried something similar in VIP . And in VIP2 also I have done something different. In Brindavanam , the challenge was to behave like the real-life Vivek and not the on-screen Vivek.
There are many younger comedians who’re coming up...
Sathish, Soori, Yogi Babu and Robo Shankar are doing a great job. I especially like Robo Shankar’s histrionics and rustic humour. My all-time favourite is Balram Naidu (played by Kamal Haasan) in Dasavatharam . That is comedy. Kamal got the award for best comedian that year.
Manorama ruled the roost for a long while. After that, we had Kovai Sarala. But there aren’t many women comedians today.
There is a lot of space for women comedians, but no one is willing to come forward. I launched Devadarshini as comedian in Parthiban Kanavu (2003). But she did not pursue it further, and has restricted herself to comedy on TV shows. I am amazed to see the kind of memes that young girls come up with. Aarthi and Vidhyuleka have the talent, but they have to pick and choose their roles.
What are your upcoming projects?
I’m doing the lead role in a film directed by newcomer Vivek Ilangovan. I play my age, that of a retired cop who goes to the US in search of his son. I will sport a salt-and-pepper look in it. My other projects are Meesaiya Murukku with Hiphop Aadhi and Sakka Podu Podu Raja with Santhanam. I am also awaiting the release of VIP2 .
That melancholic moment
Vivek shares a touching experience when he was in Malaysia for a star night event.
“I was the emcee and I was exhausted after the show. A introduced himself as Dr Kannan and wanted me to meet his wife. I understood that she was battling cancer and that she was an ardent fan of mine. When I visited her, I saw a frail woman on the bed that had a huge collection of my comedy tracks. I was speechless and emotional. I returned that night with a heavy heart.”
