Even before RJ Vijay made his big screen debut playing Aditi Rao Hydari’s best friend in Hey Sinamika, he was a household name.
After years of making a stellar name for himself on the small screen, writing lyrics for feature films, and hosting high-profile cinema-related events, making solid inroads into cinema was just a matter of time. Like many interesting and illustrious names before him, Vijay too has taken the route of playing the protagonist’s best friend. Hey Sinamika was followed by Don where he played Sivakarthikeyan’s best friend.
This week, he will yet again play the quintessential best friend in Harish Kalyan’s Let’s Get Married (LGM), directed by Ramesh Tamilmani.
While other actors may feel they are typecast in such roles, Vijay thinks otherwise.
“I believe that it is up to the actor to rise above the stereotypes, and ensure there is a variation in each of these roles.” says the multi-hyphenated talent who has no qualms playing the hero’s best friend all over again in a heartbeat. “If I like the story and my character in it, then why not? I will always find ways to make that character unique.”
LGM marks World Cup-winning Captain MS Dhoni’s maiden production venture. “Dhoni called me by my name and that itself took me by surprise. He performed a perfect impression of a dialogue from the film and asked me with a grin, ‘Nice ah?’,” shares a jubilant Vijay, who is still unable to contain the excitement in his voice while narrating the incident. “I also had a very sweet moment with Sakshi Dhoni. Having watched the film before meeting me, she said, ‘I feel like I already know you, Vijay.’”
Delving deeper into the bonds he created during the filming of LGM, Vijay shares that the film gave him a lot of treasured memories. “I have gained a family through LGM. Harish (Kalyan) and I have been friends for a long time. We became even more close after LGM, just like our onscreen characters,” he adds.
The film also had him share the screen with actor Nadiya. “Ma’am is like the friendly college lecturer we have all had. Although a senior actor, she was always humble and jovial on set. In fact, Nadiya Ma’am was funnier than most of us comedians on set.”
While his first three films have him explore shades of comedy, Vijay’s next, Nanban Oruvan Vandha Piragu, will feature him in a never-seen-before avatar.
“The slice-of-life film portrays the life of a boy from Chennai. It is made up of sentiments, emotions, conflict, romance, etc.,” says Vijay assuring that his character in this Ananth Ram directorial is quite the serious one.
But this doesn’t mean, Vijay is moving away from comedy as he will also star in Aha Tamil’s upcoming sitcom, Vera Maari Office. “Considering my background in the field of IT, I could relate to everything I went through back then. I’m sure the audience, especially the working youth of today, will find themselves through various characters in Vera Maari Office.” Apart from these two projects,
RJ Vijay will also be seen as GV Prakash’s friend in Adiyae, a sci-fi rom-com helmed by Vignesh Karthick.
Still in the nascent stages of his acting career, does Vijay have a dream role? “My only dream is that whenever I appear on screen, people should celebrate my character and performance. My aim is to be a part of good films and portray meaningful characters in cinema,” wraps up an optimistic Vijay.