Arulnithi has always stood out for his interesting choice of scripts. He has proved it yet again with Radha Mohan’s Brindavanam, in which he plays a person with disability. The character is deaf and has speech disability. “I was trained in sign language by Vijaya Bhaskar for 10 days. Vijaya is a news reader for persons with auditory disability on Puthiya Thalaimurai. She was even present on the sets for a few days to help me with correct gestures,” he says. It was a challenge for him to learn the language. “I didn’t struggle to play the character as the director was well versed in sign language. He picked it up while working in Mozhi (2007),” he said.
Arulnithi had fun shooting for this film, thanks to Vivekh. “I was tensed, but he made me feel comfortable. Vivekh plays himself and I play his fan in the film,” says Arul, and heaps praise on his director. “He’s known for handling emotions well. Brindavanam, too, follows the same template. It can make you smile and cry.” The film also stars Tanya Ravichandran, Murugan and Senthil in important roles. Arulnithi recently became a father. Talking about the responsibility of fatherhood, he said, “My son is just four months. I’ve pushed all shootings to March so that I can spend time with him. It’s important that I spend time with the baby.”
He has signed Iravuku Aayiram Kangal, a thriller directed by debutant Mu Maaran, that will roll from March.