Why Vijay Sethupathi Won’t Work With Younger Actresses

‘I
felt
awkward
pairing
with
Anushka
Shetty
on
screen
because
she
had
played
my
daughter
in
a
film.’

The
extraordinary
Tamil-Telugu-Hindi
actor
Vijay
Sethupathi
has
a
major
release
coming
up
this
week.

It
is
titled

Maharaja.
Coincidentally,
Aamir
Khan’s
son
Junaid
Khan’s
debut
film
is
titled

Maharaj
and
it
begins
streaming
on
the
same
day
as
Vijay’s

Maharaja.

“Oh,
is
it?”
says
VS
when
I
pin
him
down
for
an
interview.

“I
wish
him
all
the
best.
I’ve
just
been
running
from
one
city
to
another
promoting

Maharaja.

“It
is
my
first
really
massy
film
in
a
long
time.
And
we
are
doing
it
in
Tamil,
Telugu
and
Hindi.
The
Hindi
version
may
release
a
week
after
the
other
versions.
This
is
what
the
producer
told
me.”

VS
reveals
there
was
actually
another
Hindi
film
that
he
was
going
to
do.

“Coincidentally
Anurag
Kashyap
who
is
my
co-star
in

Maharaja
was
to
produce
that
film.

“Vasan
Bala
was
to
direct.
It
never
happened.
Then
I
wanted
to
do
a
Hindi
remake
of
a
Tamil
film

Good
Night
with
me
in
the
lead.
But
the
producer
didn’t
find
it
exciting
in
Hindi.”

VS
is
in
constant
search
of
scripts
that
challenge
him.

“I
wouldn’t
say
it’s
tough
to
find
challenging
roles.
It
is
tough
to
ensure
it
turns
out
well.

“Many
times
the
script
falters
in
the
direction.

“There
is
no
guarantee
of
a
film
turning
out
as
well
on
screen
as
it
sounds
on
the
script
level.

“Actually,
there
is
no
guarantee
of
anything
in
life.

“When
Nithilan
Swaminathan
narrated
it
to
me
I
immediately
connected
with
my
character.
How?
It’s
just
an
instinct.

“Most
of
the
time
my
gut
feeling
pays
off.
This
time
I
felt
an
instant
relatability
with
my
character.

“I
know
what
it
is
to
want
to
protect
one’s
family.”

The
actor-extraordinaire
is
not
willing
to
reveal
much
about

Maharaja.

“It
is
a
revenge
story
with
lots
of
emotions.

“Anurag
Kashyap
plays
the
antagonist.
We
have
always
shared
a
mutual
respect.

“When
I
was
in
Mumbai
he
showed
me
his
film

Kennedy.
I
liked
working
with
him.
He
is
an
interesting
co-star.”

VS
says
he
places
the
script
above
all
including
the
director.

“I
don’t
choose
directors.
I
choose
scripts.

“The
director
could
be
someone
who
has
not
had
any
experience.
I
don’t
mind
working
with
debutant
directors
if
their
script
excites
me.”

Vijay
recently
made
a
relevant
statement
about
not
working
with
Anushka
Shetty
as
she
was
almost
his
son’s
age.

He
is
not
kicked
by
the
attention
given
to
what
he
says
was
a
casual
observation.

“Why
is
this
such
a
talking
point?
I
wasn’t
saying
anything
controversial.

“It
was
twisted
out
of
context.

“What
I
meant
was,
I
felt
awkward
pairing
with
her
on
screen
because
previously
she
had
played
my
daughter
in
a
film.

“She
even
calls
me
Dad
in
real
life.
So
that
was
a
problem.

“Otherwise
it
doesn’t
matter
what
my
heroine’s
age
is.
It
is
all
acting.”

Would
he
agree
that
there
is
a
tradition
in
Tamil
and
Telugu
cinema
of
superstars
working
with
actresses
half
their
age,and
more?

VS
begs
off.
“Sir,
please
don’t
turns
this
interview
into
a
controversy.
We
will
speak
about
that
some
other
time.

“Right
now
I
am
focussed
entirely
on

Maharaja.
It
is
a
very
crowd-friendly
film.

“I
get
to
play
the
truest
hero
possible:
A
man
who
would
go
to
any
lengths
to
protect
his
family.”

Wasn’t
he
tempted
to
play
the
antagonist?

“Not
at
all.
I
have
played
the
villain
in
some
of
my
recent
films.
My
fans
did
not
like
it.
Neither
did
I.”

Feature
Presentation:
Ashish
Narsale/Rediff.com