Be it as the menacing husband Ayyanar of Mirugam or the suave cop Vasudevan of Eeram investigating his ex’s death, actor Aadhi (27) has experimented right from the word go. Making his debut with the 2006 Telugu flick Oka V Chitram, Aadhi has predominantly acted in Tamil films — Ayyanar, Aadu Puli, Aravaan, Maranthen Mannithen (Gundello Godavari in Telugu), Vallinam and Kochaidaiyaan. He rewinds to the days at Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Chennai, where he was known as Sai Pradeep, and pursued a BE in Computer Science, graduating in 2007-08.
“Most people dread ragging, but my group of friends and I were actually looking forward to it. Imagine our disappointment when our seniors hardly took notice of us, let alone rag us. That was the last straw! We then decided to have fun ourselves. We pretended to be third years and tried to rag a few sophomores. Of course, our adventures fell through even sooner than we thought and we were promptly marched to the Principal’s office and asked to apologise,” he says of his flying start to his college days.
Reminiscing, Aadhi now rues not having made the most of his time as a student. “If it were not for the insistence of my father (director Ravi Raja Pinisetty), I wouldn’t have pursued engineering at all. Since films are a dicey field, he wanted me to have a back-up option. Therefore, the day I got my degree in hand, clearing umpteen arrears and having acquired a distinction, it felt like an achievement not short of climbing the Everest,” he laughs.
A lesson that college taught him, and for which he is still thankful, is discipline. “Most students would be familiar with this scenario: engineering colleges being out of the city and the college bus coming to pick you up at 6.30 am. Initially, it was rather difficult for me to get up that early and be ready. Mostly, I used to miss the bus and ask for lifts from strangers including lorry drivers to get by. From my second year onwards, I became more regular and this helps even today when it comes to getting to my shoots,” he explains.
For someone who occasionally indulged in trouble making, Aadhi says he consciously kept away from the eves. “I did have a few crushes and tried to flirt, but was largely unsuccessful. But this hardly perturbed me for I was having too much fun with my boys,” he says affectionately of his gang of friends. As far as extracurricular activities are concerned, Aadhi gave preference to enrolling with the Rotaract club and NSS, and taking part in blood donation camps, as it was the perfect ruse to skip classes and get an On Duty stamp. For an artist, he however stayed clear of cultural activities at college. Aadhi will next be seen in Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka.
shilpa.vasudevan@newindianexpress.com