I ‘d be thrilled if SRK likes my movie, says Vikram

South superstar and National award winner Vikram talks about his film ‘Aparachit’ and more

He bagged the National Award for the best actor in ‘Pithamagan’ the same year when Hrithik Roshan was nominated for ‘Koi Mil Gaya’.

Salman Khan reprised his role in ‘Setu’ by playing the character in ‘Tere Naam’.

Now, south superstar Vikram looks anything but ‘Aparachit’ after the warm reception his film by the same name received at a private screening. ‘Aparichit’ was dubbed in Hindi from the Tamil film ‘Anniyan’.

Shankar directed ‘Aparachit’ is Vikram’s platform to essay three characters.

No, it’s not a triple role; rather the actor plays a character, suffering from a multiple personality disorder.  So, which character was the toughest?

“Playing Ambi was tough because as a hero you are not used to being a wimp on screen. It’s difficult digesting getting beaten up.”

Reported to be charging Rs 5 crore per movie, and known as the Shah Rukh Khan of the Tamil film industry, how important is that SRK likes his film? Replies Vikram, “As an actor, you always want to reach out to a larger audience and cut across language barriers. So, if Shah Rukh sees the movie and likes it, I ‘d be thrilled.”

Also known to be an interfering actor, with a director of Shankar’s stature, how much did Vikram dictate?

He laughs, “In the south, heroes have a major say. In ‘Aparachit’ I gave suggestions but the ultimate verdict was of the director. But before beginning the film, I was totally involved in the research and preparation, but once on the sets, I go by what the director says.”

The actor is not looking at ‘Aparachit’ as his ticket to Bollywood although he is eager to do a Bollywood film.

“Certainly, I would love to, if I get a good script and director.” The actor has already started brushing on his Hindi by purchasing a course called ‘Simplified Hindi.’ Not so ‘strange’ then is his awareness of words “pyar, ishq, mohabbat and khubsoorat.”

Suppose he could pick a Bollywood director for his debut Hindi film, whom would it be, “Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rakeysh Mehra, Priyadarshan, Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar,” top his wish-list.

How then does his family react to his movies? “My wife, a psychologist helped me tremendously in fleshing out Ambi’s character in the film, who has multiple personality disorder, but she is no fan of mine. My kids are, and my son is showing a keen interest in movies and my wife is not happy with that.”

South films and directors have a fascination for Bollywood actresses. What would he pin it down to? He smiles, a trifle shyly, “Tricky question. I used to prefer Jennifer Lopez but now I have a taken a liking to Angelina Jolie.”
r_faheem@dnaindia.net