Vijay Sethupathi: I will take a break from playing a villain
HINDUSTAN TIMES (November 24, 2023)

In an interactive masterclass at the ongoing 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, multiple award-winning actor Vijay Sethupathi, in conversation with actor-politician Kushboo Sundar, asked everyone “not to take the conversations too seriously or as a class” while entering the stage. He was in Goa for the first-ever silent film, Gandhi Talks, to be played at the festival, and began by stating, “It’s not a class at all. I don’t even know what to do in front of a camera. Just treat me like one of you. Let’s create and share. And if you don’t understand my language, please refer to my face.”

The actor, who has showcased his talent in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films, when asked if he is a method or a spontaneous actor, said, “I don’t know what the method of acting is. When a director is narrating a script, I wonder why he’s telling the story and why he wanted to make the story. I ask a lot of stupid questions. I understand the essence, and I try to understand the director who’s telling the story. But I don’t follow any formula.”

The actor, who recently played a villain in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan, said that he will take a break from playing antagonist characters: “There are many pressures and restrictions. They (makers or writers) try to stop the character from dominating the hero. (But now) I will take a break and focus on playing the protagonist and character roles.”

When the 45-year-old was asked if he always wanted to become an actor, Sethupathi explained, “I can’t focus on anything continuously, nor do I have the consistency to keep at one thing... During my childhood, I enrolled in learning how to play mridangam in T.Nagar, Chennai, but after one week, I quit the class. That’s how I am. My intention was to become a businessman and earn a lot of money. But I ended up here.”

Pointing out that everyone was formally dressed at the opening ceremony and only he was different in a blue shirt and jeans, the 45-year-old told Kushboo, “I looked like an alien that night... But everything designer is very expensive, and I am like this. I can’t be comfortable in a suit... But I was insecure when I was there, to be honest.”

Before becoming an actor, Sethupathi was an accountant in Dubai, and during the session, he thanked his wife, Jessy, for not letting him go back to his regular job: “I was just living, going with the flow. Then I fell in love during a wedding in India, got married, and my wife didn’t let me return to Dubai. Then cinema happened.”

The couple apparently met on social media in 2002, got married the following year, now are parents to two children: Surya and Shreeja.
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Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; November 25, 2023)

There was a time in his career when he was very insecure, says Vijay Sethupathi, adding, “Now I am very secure. I’m comfortable, relaxed – whatever happens, no problem. Even if I don’t become a hero, I’ll play a villain.” However, he also shared that he has almost decided to not play villain roles anymore.

At his masterclass at IFFI, Vijay started the conversation with a disclaimer, “This is no masterclass.” The actor spoke about his characters and maintained that there is no method behind his acting, but it is curiosity that leads him, “The only thing I know is that I don’t know. And because I don’t know, I want to know.”

‘A VILLAIN CAN ALSO ENTERTAIN, AND I WANTED TO ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE THROUGH THAT’
Vijay shared that he played the villain in a few projects at the start of his career and though he recently played a villain again in Jawan, he wants to stop doing these negative roles for a few years. He joked, “When did villain roles in the beginning, it felt good because we always have that anger and that (grey) shade in us. Sometimes when I get angry, I feel like killing somebody, but I can’t do that in real life, so it happens when I do a film!”

He added, “A villain can also entertain, and I wanted to engage and entertain the audience through that. And if I miss that chance now (to do different types of roles) when I’m in my 40s, then in my 50s, I’ll be trapped in my image.”

Vijay said that there is a lot of emotional pressure in the process of playing a villain. “I almost decided to not do villain roles anymore because I can’t handle that emotional pressure. There are restrictions when I play a villain – to not take over the protagonist and some things go in the editing also. So, I’m worried and confused whether to do it (play a villain again) or not. I have decided to not do villain roles for at least a couple of years.”

‘AUDIENCE DOESN’T COME TO SEE THE STAR, THEY COME TO SEE THE CHARACTERS’
“I strongly believe that the audience is not coming to see the star. They are coming to see the story and the character. I’m happily married for 17 years, but my wife and I can’t even watch our wedding video, it’s very boring, but it was a very sweet time. There is nothing in the video, we are just receiving gifts, so there is no interest to watch it. We have to make something to engage the audience and to keep them in that moment.”

‘THE BODY LANGUAGE OF MY CHARACTER IN JAWAN WAS BASED ON JEFF BEZOS’
In Jawan, Vijay’s character had a signature neck movement. Responding to a question on how he came up with it, he said, “Three years back, I felt as if my brain was drained. I did not have a new perspective. So, I got an acting coach. She worked with me on four films and for this character, she took the body language from Jeff Bezos and told me use it in tense scenes. He is a businessman and my character was also a businessman, so that was her idea.”

‘A LOT OF YOUNGSTERS FEEL THAT ACTING IS A VERY EASY PROFESSION’
When someone from the audience asked him to act on cue, Vijay said, “I have a lot of respect for my profession, so I shouldn’t showcase my skills like this. A lot of youngsters feel that it is a very easy profession. It is not. Writers write a story for days, months and sometimes years; and for an actor to prepare for that, he has to understand the intention of the dialogue in that moment. An actor’s mind has to be that sharp. Finding the intention of the scene is more important and not delivery. Only delivering the dialogue will not connect with the audience, we have to touch the soul.”

When another audience member asked for tips, he said, “There is no formula, people always expect a formula. You should believe in yourself, there is no formula.”

Vijay shared that when he was offered the role of transgender person in Super Deluxe, which later got him National Award, he immediately agreed. “The reason is that because it is Kumararaja (the director), he can bring out the best in me. I didn’t have trust in me, I had trust in Kumararaja.”

'I looked like an alien'
“That day (on IFFI inauguration red carpet) I looked like an alien. I hear that word humble, I am not humble. I’m showing up like this because I like this way. I’m very comfortable. But that day I was very insecure when I was sitting there”