Vijay Sethupathi is one of the most adventurous and fearless actors in India. When this writer heard he is doing a film with Puri Jagannadh, it seemed hard to believe. Responding to my incredulity, Vijay quietly said, “Sir, why judge a filmmaker by his recent failures? I don’t judge my directors by what they have done in the past. If I like a script, I do it. I like what he is doing. It is a full-on action film. I haven’t done something like this before. It is important for me to go into untried territory and not repeat myself.”
About working with Tabu for the first time, Vijay confirms, “Yes, Sir. She has an important role. She is a fine artiste. It is always a pleasure to work with a talented co-star, especially one I haven’t worked with before.”
Vijay’s Maharaja last year broke the box office and OTT platform. He says, “It was a film with a very strong statement on child abuse. Many times I would be shivering while doing the scenes. In terms of the emotional involvement, I would say Maharaja was my toughest role to date. The feeling of anger and revulsion was real, as I am the father of a daughter in real life. Films with a strong message are my forte. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to work in out-and-out entertainers. I have two Tamil releases coming up. Mysskin’s Train, which is another action film. And Aruguma Kumar’s Ace, which is a murder mystery.”
