She’s all of six years, but baby Vedhika seems to have already charted out her future. Her debut film Nirnayam has just released, and her face is across all the posters and ads. “There’s a poster of me in front of my school, my best friend Anjana told me. I’m waiting to go see it on Monday,” says Vedhika happily. In a chat with this grand- daughter of legendary ghatam vidwan Vikku Vinayagaram, CE discovers more about the little wonder, who is already part of two more films in Kollywood.
“I am not shy of the camera. I love to act, to cry and laugh in front of it. I want to act even when I grow up,” declares Vedhika. Though she has made her choice clear, Vedhika’s entry into films was quite by chance. Says mom Sowmya, “My brother-in-law, kanjira player Selvaganesh, was producing Nirnayam. They had auditioned many kids for a child of the lead pair, who was to be there throughout the film. On the final day of auditioning, my husband Umashanker, who was doing a small role too, took her to the studio so that she wouldn’t be bored at home. It was there that director S S Sai Saravanan spotted her playing. He thought her perfect for the role. Though we were surprised at first, Vedhika’s enthusiasm prompted us to give it a chance.”
Vedhika was only four years then, but was never cranky nor did she complain through the shoot. “Her grasping power was perfect and she seemed to be enjoying herself,” says Sowmya. It’s clear that the child is set to go places since it is none other than KV Anand, who has signed her on for his Dhanush-starrer Anegan. Vedhika is back from her Hyderabad shoot for the film. Says Sowmya, “KV Anand was floored when she went to him just as the take was starting and asked ‘what’s my reaction supposed to be uncle? No one has told me,’ for a market scene, which had 200 people in the shot with her. He was amazed by her camera sense.”
Vedhika plays a deaf–mute child in Priyamudun Priya starring Rashmi Gautam and Ashok, directed by Sujith. Vedhika has already taken her best friends to see Nirnayam. “Their mouths were open with shock to see me on screen,” she chuckles and in conclusion, she chirps, “I want to act with Uncle Suriya.”