Vasanth Ravi on Rajinikanth’s Jailer: ‘You might have already heard the story, but Nelson Dilipkumar’s treatment will surprise you’

Excerpts from the interview:

With too many stars in Jailer, were you convinced that you will find your space in it?

I liked my character. That was enough for me to say yes. And apart from it, of course, it has Rajini sir. On top of it, it’s Nelson sir’s direction. I like that combination. I am just three-films old, and such an opportunity has come my way this early in my career. I didn’t want to miss it. I also wanted to learn from the opportunity… to see how Rajini sir preps for the role and every scene. Also, wanted to see how Nelson handles the dark comedy, a new genre in Tamil cinema.

And what has been the learning?

Nelson pulls out a performance from the actors which is neither artificial nor realistic. It is somewhere between the two. The filmmakers with whom I have worked so far take the realistic route. On the other hand, we have commercial filmmakers who opt for more animated performances to make the film larger than life. With Nelson, it is between these two poles. His tempo, rhythm, and style are new to me. I now know when to use this kind of method in my future films.

Not a lot of actors think it is necessary to go to an acting school or an institution to learn acting, but you did…

Yes, I went to Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares. But if you see, even Rajini sir went to a film institute. Of course, acting can’t be taught but there are some things that you need to know before walking into a set saying I have a love for acting and all that. Either you have to be part of a theatre group, where you gain experience before moving to films, which is a bigger medium and where every day is an expense. With theatre, you have the scope for making mistakes and correcting yourself, which is not possible with film shoots. The second option is to go to an acting school to learn and unlearn things.

Do you think acting is a skill set like driving that can be learnt by anyone or it needs some special innate quality?

I think it is both. It has to be innate in you to develop it into a skill. Just with the skill one can’t become an actor. You should feel it inside you… which makes you learn the necessary skills to express yourself.

You are a hotelier right… the chain of Vasantha Bhavan restaurants…

(Interrupts) I am not, my dad is. Right after I finished my education, I decided to be an actor and that’s what I have always wanted to be.

People finishing engineering and getting into cinema is like a cliché now. But you are a doctor…

There are a lot of doctors who are doing that now. You know Sai Pallavi, Aditi Shankar, and also a couple more are doctors who turned into actors. Even Aishwarya Lekshmi.

So, what’s happening with doctors now?

I think doctors are more creative, they are more artistic. It is just we have a lot of artistic interests. Previously, the medium was not open enough for someone to finish an MBBS degree and come and act. Now, families can understand that it has become relatively easy.

That means that you are not into acting business for money. So what are you in for?

The goal is not to make money. The focus is to make films that I am satisfied with and happy with. With every film, I want to progress as an actor. Also, every film that I do shouldn’t disappear in a matter of six months or one year. It should be spoken about for decades. That’s why I did Taramani and Rocky. I don’t where it will lead… but I know it will be a beautiful place. So, money is just a byproduct of this process.

Lastly, there are a lot of rumours about the story of Jailer. Are they getting it right or it’s going to surprise us?

Jailer has fresh content. Yet, you would have heard the story, but the way it is presented is completely new and going to be surprising. Nelson has tried something that he hasn’t done with his previous films… in terms of the emotional layer, which will be a big surprise.

Where do you go from here?

I have a project called Weapon. I have a rom-com with director Priya, who made Kanda Naal Mudhal. Then a crime drama with Aishwarya Rajesh. All three films are completed and are in the post-production phase.