I don’t know the story of Vivegam: Karunakaran

Karunakaran can’t contain his excitement, as he begins talking about his character in Vivegam. “I play an NRI translator named APS, who’s working in Serbia. Most of my portions are with Ajith sir,” he reveals. On working with the actor, he says, “I made a lot of great memories that I’ll cherish for a long time. I learned so much from Ajith sir that I can use both in films, and in my personal life.”

Prodded for an example, he says, “One day, in Europe, we were relaxing after a tedious schedule when we saw two guys pushing a car that wouldn’t start. Ajith sir called me, and we ran across the road to help them park the vehicle. Another time, I had an insect bite for which he made sure I got my first aid, and on top of it, he called me in the evening to check if I was keeping well and if I had taken my medicine.”

Karunakaran says Ajith maintained such cordial relationships with everyone on the sets. “Sometimes, we have almost 60 people on the sets, and yet, he will manage to spend time with them all. He told me to try it once, and I realised I couldn’t do it for more than two days (laughs).” 

ALSO READ: I wasn’t sure of Vivegam initially: Vivek Oberoi

Karunakaran remains in awe about the physical transformation Ajith went through for Vivegam. “Despite suffering from multiple injuries, he worked hard on his appearance. I can’t reveal what he has done for this film. But I can tell you he didn’t use any dupes and always went the extra mile, just to make his fans happy. I saw him get hurt during the shoots but he didn’t care. He’d say, ‘Fans enjoy pannuvangale.’”  

Director Siva’s previous films with Ajith, Veeram and Vedhalam, had Santhanam and Soori as the comedians.

Is there pressure on him? “The only pressure on me is to play my character as well as I can. After the shooting, Siva sir called me and said he was very happy with my performance,” says Karunakaran. “The team helped me a lot with improvising, and I had the liberty to do that, as long as it didn’t disrupt the film’s flow. Both Siva sir and Ajith sir give me a lot of scope to perform.”

Karunakaran says Ajith has a terrific sense of humour. “Bayangarama kalaaipaaru. When he’s around, the entire set becomes cheerful. I hesitated to do a few scenes as his fans may have a problem, but he encouraged me,” he says. Interestingly, the comedian says he has no idea what the story’s about. “I’m waiting just like you.”

Karunakaran has played only small roles in some of the bigger films in his career including Lingaa, Thodari and Iru Mugan.

“That’s because I simply wanted to be in those films with those actors. But Vivegam has me playing a substantial role.” He says director Siva made him feel very comfortable. “He made me feel like I was working with close friends.”

Karunakaran has a lot on his plate, with quite a few films, including Silukkuvarupatti Singam, Maheshinte Prathikaaram’s remake, Veera, Semma Botha Aagatha and Vallavanukku Vallavan, gearing up for release. I prod him about his solo hero film, Uppu Karuvaadu, which didn’t quite do well at the box office.

“The floods made it hard for the film to run well. I was appreciated by quite a few directors. I don’t mind doing the lead if the story is convincing enough, but for the most part, I’m happy to play character roles.”