His second stint as a village boy in the movie ‘Kalavani’ brought him rave reviews. Vimal is now basking in the success of the movie and has become one of the promising heroes in the film industry. He speaks to Expresso about his roles and the audience’s reaction to them.
From Meenakshi Sundaram to Arialagan
His character in ‘Pasanga’, Meenakshi Sundaram , made him a household name. He was known by his character’s name rather than by his real name. It was a déjà vu moment for Vimal as his second film ‘Kalavani’ has rocketed him to success. His character Arialagan is doing the rounds now. “Right from the release of ‘Kalavani’ (June 25), I have been getting calls from many directors in the industry. Pandiraj, who introduced me in ‘Pasanga’, Sasikumar sir and
Bala sir called me and said my acting was very natural.
“Bala sir told me that I was so natural that I looked like the boy-next-door. He also said that he saw a good film after a long time. ‘I wanted to see more such good films,’ said Bala sir,” the actor exclaims excitedly.
The debut:
Six years of training in Koothuppatarai, a Tamil theatre group, shaped Vimal’s acting prowess. “Pandiraj saw me in an ad film and called me for an audition for ‘Pasanga’. Wherever I went people called me ‘Meenakshi Sundaram’. Now people call me ‘Arivalagan’. It is nice to know that my characters have left an impact on the audience and they remember me for my work.”
The audience’s reaction:
“I’m yet to go to down South and see their reactions but I recently went to a theatre in Salem and was so surprised to see the reaction there. A lot of families had come and they congratulated me. A few even lifted me and that was something I would never forget.”
Variety:
“As an actor I want to experiment with different kinds of roles and not just stick to this village-guy image. I definitely want to do a Chennai-based role,” gushes Vimal. The actor who has now given two continuous hits, shares the news that he would soon act in a film under Pandiraj’s direction.
The taste of success:
“Though I’m on top of the world, at the same time I have to sustain it. I’m very careful while choosing my future projects. My preferences are the story and my character,” says the actor with a clear vision.
‘Kalavani’s director Sargunam:
‘Kalavani’ is director Sarkunam’s debut film of and the rave reviews are definitely a boost to this team to give churn out better films in future. Says Vimal, “Sarkunam is my long-time friend and I knew the story of the film some six years ago. I thought I could make my debut with this film but then I got ‘Pasanga’ and Sarkunam was tied up with some work. All of a sudden we both got an opportunity to work and that’s how ‘Kalavani’ happened. Sarkunam and I are good friends and I’m happy for him as everyone is praising the director for such a good story.”
What next?
“At present I’m doing ‘Thoonga Nagaram’, a story based in Madurai. My character’s name is Kannan and I play a videographer in the film. I’m sure that the character name will do rounds like my previous films. Apart from Pandiraj’s film, I’m doing another film for a new banner,” informs Vimal.