Vikram recalls the time in his life when he had no money or popularity: ‘I saw Mammootty sitting at Pankaj hotel and I vowed…’

Tamil actor Vikram went down memory lane while promoting Ponniyin Selvan 1 in Kerala.

Bengaluru | September 22, 2022 07:52 PM IST

3 min read

Poster of Ponniyin Selvan with Vikram as Aditya Karikalar.

Tamil actor Vikram got nostalgic while promoting his upcoming movie Ponniyin Selvan 1 in Thiruvananthapuram recently. The star recalled his struggling days when he appeared in minor supporting roles.

“A long time ago, when you guys were young, say, 1992-93, some of you were not even born. At that time I had done a movie called Meera. It was my second film. Director Joshiy called his manager Shanmugam and he showed my picture in a magazine and informed him that he wanted me to play the character Bhadran in his film Dhruvam,” Vikram said.

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Vikram noted that given that he was still a novice in the industry, he was allotted a stay at a cheap lodge, while the film’s star Mammootty stayed in Pankaj hotel. And that he made a vow. “So I came over here. I was staying in a very small lodge here. I showed it to my family today. I used to go for walks then and nobody recognised me. One day, when I was walking, a man called out my name. He said that he knows who I am and walked away. He didn’t talk to me. When I used to walk on MG Road, I would see Mammukka sitting at the Pankaj hotel. I then vowed one day I will stay at that hotel. I didn’t stay at the Pankaj hotel but I got to stay at a better hotel now. And I feel very happy. That day just one person recognised me. But today when you guys shout my name, there is nothing that makes me happier. I haven’t done a Malayalam film in a long time. But, still, you shower my films with love and celebration. I love that,” the actor added.

Vikram plays the role of Aaditha Karikalan in PS1. And he called it his “dream role”. The film is based on iconic writer Kalki Krishnamurthy’s epic novel on the Chola empire. The book has been adapted for the screen by director Mani Ratnam. The movie will release in two parts and the first part will hit the screens on September 30.

Ponniyin Selvan 1 also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman and R Parthiban.

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