Vijay Sethupathi fought with Vignesh Shivan during Naanum Rowdy Thaan: ‘I told him not to teach me acting’

Vijay Sethupathi recently opened up about how he used to have issues with Vignesh Shivan during the shooting of Naanum Rowdy Thaan, which became a watershed moment in the career of both the actor and the director. While talking about how he was shaped by many filmmakers in his 20-year career as an actor, Sethupathi recalled the many fights with directors.

In an interview with Galatta Plus, the Maharaja actor said that he initially didn’t get along well with Vignesh Shivan as the director was demanding something else from him. It took some days for them to understand what both were trying to do. He said, “After the first day of Naanum Rowdy Thaan shoot, I called Vicky and fought with him. I told him, ‘You are trying to teach me acting. You haven’t understood me.’ After four days, Nayan(thara) asked me what’s the issue between you two. I told her that he was asking me to do Paandi character with more hip.”

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Sethupathi added, “When Vicky narrated the script, it was lovely. I was actually trying to emulate Vicky only, but it took time for us to understand each other. I think it was Vishnu Vishal who rightly told me that it wasn’t easy to play that character. If he cries, everyone should laugh. He is a good guy, but a fraud. I didn’t understand the character for the first four days, and in that time, I became very insecure.”

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Vijay Sethupathi claimed that Vignesh Shivan is a special filmmaker, and he is the new-gen filmmaker. “We wouldn’t even touch a subject like Kaathu Vaakula Rendu Kaadhal. Nobody understands him. If you trust him and go along, he will create a lot of magic inside. Like that, so many experiences have made me what I am today.”

Sethupathi is currently being praise for his performance in Maharaja, directed by Nithilan Saminathan. The film has garnered mixed reviews.