When you’ve got a dad who’s a famous producer and a brother who’s directed some of the most critically acclaimed films in recent history, you’d think that asking for help would be a matter of course. Udhaya would disagree with that vehemently. Having struggled for years for that one elusive break, A L Vijay’s brother says, “It has been a real struggle, I cannot deny that. There have been times when I’ve felt very low and depressed,” but adds with resolve, “But I’ve never asked my brother to direct me or cast me in a film. It’s not something that I ever plan to do, unless he himself asks and even then I’d want it to be a meaty role before I agree.” The same applies to his father A L Azhagappan, which is why he is still doing projects like Aavi Kumar (releasing in May) and the upcoming Utharavu Maharaja, with external producers.
Having entered the industry in 2000 with the film Tirunelveli, Udhaya’s journey has been rocky at best. With box-office duds like Shakalaka Baby and a string of stalled projects, you’d think that he would have thrown in the towel a lot earlier. Ask him what still keeps him going and he replies quietly, “It’s cinema. I love it and I don’t really know how to do anything else. Till today, I still go first-day-first-show for every movie that releases, big or small, and people reach out to me for an honest reply on how it’s doing.” And he tells them. Whether it’s a random cameraman or his own brother, the review will be dead set and honest.
Though all the others who tried to debut as hero in the batch of 2000, most notably Manoj Bharathiraaja, have thrown in the towel on their acting careers, Udhaya is resolute. “The first film of mine that people really appreciated was Raa Raa, though it wasn’t a huge commercial hit. So I know that if I can do solid roles, whether as a hero or as a villain, it will carry me a long way,” he says. This is part of the reason why he is mildly reluctant to try minor character roles like the one he did in his brother’s movie with Vijay Thalaivaa.
Looking ahead, he says that he’s planning to release a pre-production teaser for this next project, touted to be a psych-comedy. The role is one where people will wonder if he’s a psycho or plain mental or just acting crazy, across four separate get-ups. And what about this new teaser concept? “Everybody does teasers with shot footage. We’re doing it even before the cast is set. Maybe producers will be interested, you know,” he says with a laugh. Honesty, is a virtue.