Vijay Sethupathi on sharing screen space with Shahid Kapoor in Farzi: ‘I only want to work with super talented actors from whom I can learn’

The actor then opened up about how Farzi was offered to him after a meeting with The Family Man actor Manoj Bajpayee, followed by Raj & DK. He also revealed that he was worried about his language skills as he was offered a Hindi project.

Vijay Sethupathi said, “I met Raj & DK when I was on the way to a night shoot. Somebody called me and said that Manoj Bajpayee wanted to meet me. It was like a surprise to me to go and see him. I couldn’t believe that he wanted to meet me. I met him and he was the same person I saw in Company and Satya. He is so handsome and he was very sweet with me. Then I met Raj & DK who were there too. I didn’t know there would be something work related for me, that too in Hindi. I learnt Hindi when I was in Dubai for three years, where I did an accountant’s job. It was so many years ago and I had not practiced, so I was worried about my language. Shahid was there too and this was offered to me.”

Sethupathi also shared a funny anecdote that for people to take seriously that he is working in Hindi films, he has to say that he’s going to be sharing screen space with Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

“When I get a Hindi project, I have to tell (people) that I’m working with Shahid or that I’m the villain for Shah Rukh Khan (Jawan), working with Katrina Kaif (Merry Christmas), then only I’m taken seriously,” quipped the actor.

Vijay Sethupathi further shared that he cherishes the freedom that Raj & DK gave him while shooting Farzi. He said, “Raj & DK are like brothers to me. I can share any idiotic idea with them and they’ll not judge me, so I don’t have to worry as an artiste. I need that kind of freedom.”

When Sethupathi was asked if he felt insecure being a part of Farzi as Shahid Kapoor plays the parallel lead, the actor talked about why he thinks all projects are multi-starrers.

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He said, “I don’t look at it that way. I’ve worked in so many films. Every film is a multi-starrer. There is not only one star in any film. Here also I respect Amol (Palekar) so much, then Bhuvan (Arora). It’s not only Shahid. No one comes here to compete with one another. We all co-operate and work together. There is no winning. I don’t believe in winning, I enjoy the game. There is a lot of sharing and learning. I am not insecure. I did a negative role in my third film. The director asked me if I was sure about it, but I did it. I only want to work with super talented actors from whom I can learn. You can’t learn everything and come. Life is like catch and throw. That is the only way to learn.”

Farzi will drop on Amazon Prime Video on February 10. It will stream in Hindi and Tamil. However, Vijay Sethupathi has not lent his voice for the web show’s Tamil version.

When Sethupathi was asked why he didn’t lend his voice for the Tamil version, he said, “I didn’t get the time sir. Since I had to shoot, I couldn’t do it. It’s an eight-episode series, so I couldn’t do it. I apologise for that.”