Vikram Kennedy makes his debut in the Hindi film industry with Mani Ratnam's Raavan. But the 44-year-old actor is a huge star in Tamil films, and even won a National Award for Pithamagan in 2004.
How do you feeling about your Bollywood debut?
I am excited as it’s a new experience and new audience. Since it was a new language, I had to get into the skin of my character. My earlier film, Anniyan (2005) was dubbed in Hindi as Aparichit but I am making my first foray into Hindi cinema with Raavan.
Tell us about your role and the film
I play the protagonist Dev in one film (Raavan) and the antagonist Beera in the other (Raavanan) and, though it was fantastic, it was quite tough to essay two totally opposite characters. As for my role, you will love it or hate it but you just can’t ignore it. I enjoyed playing Beera more than playing Dev, because somewhere I relate to Beera with his shades of grey and multiple personalities and emotions. Though I have done many challenging roles and a lot of tortuous sequences in the past, this one tops the charts.
Was it difficult to simultaneously shoot in two languages — where one is completely alien to you?
(Laughs) We had to do it in two consecutive shots, one after the other. But more than the language what was difficult, rather challenging for me, was shifting between the two contrasting characters.
You had to learn Hindi for Raavan? How long did it take to learn? Who did you learn it from?
I was learning simultaneously while shooting. I taught myself Hindi and Karan Kashyap, who was dubbing my dialogues for the Hindi version, helped me fine-tune the language. Dubbing helps the character, so I later dubbed my dialogues. Those who have heard it have appreciated it.
How was it working with Mani Ratnam and the Bachchans?
This was the first time I worked with Mani Ratnam and Raavan is his ode to cinema. I have loved his films and had always wanted to work with him. He’s one of the finest directors in the industry. Abhishek and Aishwarya are good friends and are great performers. Every hero from the south wants to work with Aishwarya at some point in his career…I got my opportunity finally
Also Read
Tamil actors like Kamal Haasan, R Madhavan and Siddharth Narayan amongst others had made their entry into Hindi cinema quite early. Why did you wait for so long?
All my Tamil films take one to two years to complete. I like to take my time over the projects. I didn’t want to enter Hindi cinema until I was ready. Tamil or Hindi is a toss-up. The work in Mumbai is quite exciting and when Mani Ratnam approached me for Raavan, I was really excited.
Are there more Bollywood projects in the pipeline?
Yes, certainly, I would love to do good Hindi cinema. If I get good character-driven scripts and roles, I would take them up. I am already getting offers. But I have my work cut out for me in the South, which is close to my heart. Even if I do Hindi films, I want to be Chennai-based.