Vishnu, who shot to fame, thanks to the popular Vijay TV serial, Office, has now made a giant leap from the small screen to the big. He has already completed shooting for two films, both are on the verge of hitting the screens shortly.
“It is true. I will be making my debut through Mapillai Singam, in which I play second lead. Directed by Rajashekhar, the film will feature a number of stars including Vimal and Anjali, who play the lead roles. It’s a commercial entertainer in a rural setting. I play an innocent character with a funny bone,” says Vishnu.
Before he could complete his scenes in Mapillai Singam, Vishnu got an offer he couldn’t resist. He accepted Ivan Yaarendru Therigiradha by debutant director Suresh Kumar (who has worked with director Suseenthiran), a film in which he plays the lead role. “The film will feature two heroines – Varsha (from Sathuran-fame), and Ishara Nair, who played the heroine in Sathuranga Vettai (2014),” he adds. “It’s a comedy film about a guy who was born on Valentine’s Day but is unable to find love.”
Raghunandan has scored the music for it. Rajkumar from Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (2012) and Arjun who impressed audiences in Kaadhalil Sodhappuvadu Eppadi (2012), play the role of his friends in the film.
An electronics media student, Vishnu says he never had any ambition of becoming an actor. “After completing the Masters programme in Electronics Media, I joined Vijay TV as a programme producer and worked in various shows. At the time, my aim was to become an executive producer. It was Ramanuja Vasan, the head of the fiction section in Vijay TV, who offered me my first opportunity to act. He said, ‘I need a person with a rich look to act in Kanaa Kaanum Kaalangal (2007). You will fit the bill’. I had been working behind the camera until then…but after KKK, I got a big break through Office (2013), in which I played one of the central characters,” reminisces Vishnu.
Office was a big success and by the 58th episode, Vishnu was flooded with film offers. But he was bound by contract and couldn’t take any other projects until the serial’s 250th episode. “It is a very fair clause; else, people would leave mid-way and the entire project would have been in jeopardy,” says Vishnu. He went on to add that he turned down at least seven promising offers.
Finally, after the 250th episode was done, Vishnu, who won the Best Comedian Award in the Vijay Telly Awards, took up Mapillai Singam and then subsequently, Ivan Yaarendru Therigiradha. Now that both his films are completed, Vishnu is discussing other offers with two filmmakers.
“Both these films are likely to release in December. I am already in talks with a couple of other filmmakers,” he smiles.