In a career spanning over three decades, actor Vikram has entertained us with several challenging roles.
Vikram is one of the few actors who has always stepped out of his comfort zone to take up challenging roles, some of which even involved massive body transformations and makeovers.
Recently at the press meet at Bengaluru for his upcoming film, Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan 2, the I actor was asked if he ever feels like staying away from ambitious yet physically exhaustive projects. To this, he replied in negative and recalled how doing a film like Pithamagan lit the fire in him.
Vikram said, “I don’t think so. There is so much to explore in cinema. When I did Pithamagan, my character rattled me. I never imagined someone could create a character like that. That lit the fire in me. I always wanted to do a historical film. I always dreamt of playing characters like Aditya Karikalan, Vandiyathevan, or even Karna, for that matter. Now I am doing Thangalaan, and it’s something that I have never engaged in. The minds of filmmakers are so fertile and evolving. Every filmmaker I meet has a fresh idea. So, I don’t think I will stop being passionate about cinema.”
Talking about Ponniyin Selvan 2, Vikram spoke about how working with Mani Ratnam twice is a dream come true for him. The actor shared, “In Mani sir’s film, I wanted my character to be introduced while he is riding a bike with glares on. But here, in Ponniyin Selvan 1, I get introduced sitting on a horse.”
He also recalled the director’s endearing 100-film promise and told reporters, “After Raavanan, Mani sir had told me, ‘Kenny, I want to do 100 films with you.’ I told him 100 films will take a long time, but please give me my second film with you soon. Today, I am glad I have completed my second project with him.”
Ever since the trailer of Ponniyin Selvan 2 dropped, fans cannot stop talking about the last frame in the sneak-peek where Queen Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) comes face-to-face with her estranged lover Karikalan. Vikram revealed that the romance part was difficult to pull off as it has different layers and hinted that the second part of the film has some nice surprises in store.
Ponniyin Selvan 2 is slated to release in cinema halls on April 28. The film stars Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Sobhita Dhulipala and Aishwarya Lekshmi.