With Avan Ivan ready for release on June 17, Vishal seems to be gearing up to face the reaction of his fans and critics on his performance. He plays the squint-eyed Walter Vanangamudi, Arya’s brother and tormenter in the comedy directed by Bala. Vishal convened a press meet at his office yesterday and answered a torrent of questions posed about the movie by the gathering.
He started off saying that the movie has a brilliant opening scene. He gave an outline about the story, that it is a story about two brothers, one of which is squint-eyed and played by him. “It’s like Senthil – Goundamani type comedy. Arya constantly gets thrashed by me and these scenes will be the highlights of humor in the film,” he assured.
Was it difficult for him to constantly sport the squint? Yes, of course he said. He also mentioned that the contact lenses that he had to wear for the effect made his head throb for days together. “I couldn’t sleep for days together. Worst, for a fight scene I had to jump from 60 ft height and after wearing the lens I couldn’t make out anything from that height,” he described the hardships he underwent. Vishal also revealed that the portrayal of death in this movie is close to real life and that it would move anybody’s heart.
What about the alleged friction between him and Arya? He brushes that piece of news as rumors, saying that he is friends with Arya for the past 16 years. “There are no other friends in the industry like us. My character was supposed to be done by Arya but he gave it up for me. Such is his friendship with me,” he quoted instances of their friendship. He went on to say that even if he received an award for this movie, he would dedicate it to Arya.
As a signing off note, on the differences between working with Bala and other directors, he said that while other directors’ films are like going to colleges, Bala’s films are like going to universities. You get to learn a lot of things.
Shot in 235 days, Avan Ivan will be released on the 17th of June.
