Grill Mill: Aravindraj

Arvindraj

After the success of Oomaivizhigal, you did several films. But there has been a sudden lull. Why?

Oomaivizhigal was a trendsetter in Tamil cinema. I did 10 films after that. Then I got an opportunity to do a mega serial, “Soolam”, which ran for nearly two years. When it was time to come back to the big screen, I found the scene had completely changed. I made a Tamil film Ayuthapadai . But due to various reasons, it did not get released. So when my relative K.Vaithiyalinga Udayar asked me to do a film I was more than happy and did Irandu Mugam with Sathyaraj and Karan in the lead. It is expected to release next month.

Cinema is quite different from the days you made Oomaivizhigal ? How have you treated Irandu Mugam ?

I constantly updated my knowledge of filmmaking. I have made the film in such a way that it will appeal to today's youth. People used to ask me why comedy was missing in my earlier films. But it is integral to

Irandu Mugam .

Apart from Tamil, you haven't ventured into any other language. Why?

My films are basically action-oriented and they would be dubbed into other languages. So I never felt the need to remake them.

What about directors acting in films?

When I made films I was asked to play important roles in them. But I wasn't interested in doing them then. I did some small screen roles. Now I have done the role of ‘Tharai Thamizharasan' in Irandu Mugam . Let's wait and see how people react to it.

Which is easy — acting or directing?

If you are directing a film, acting in it is easy. But the screenplay should not be stretched to make your role important.

After Irandu Mugam, what is it going to be — big or small screen?

I have a beautiful love story for which the dialogue is also ready. So it may be a feature film next.