For Vishnuu Vishal, Gatta Kusthi 2 is a commemorative milestone in his 25-year career. The actor began with Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu (2009), a sports drama, worked on Jeeva (2014) and Lal Salaam (2024), both sports dramas, and has book-ended his 25th year with the upcoming sequel to 2024’s Gatta Kusthi. In an interview with CE, Vishnuu talks about his hunger to work on a sequel, being happy working on multiple sports based films, and his philosophy for becoming a producer.
Excerpts:
Why do you work on a lot of sports films?
I am a sportsperson myself, so I am used to understanding the pulse of the players on the field. Since I am a professional cricketer in real life, I took on Jeeva (2014). I was able to direct the shots as precisely as Suseenthiran sir wanted. Even though I didn’t know kabaddi, I was able to pick it up easily for Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu (2009). For Gatta Kusthi (2024), I wasn’t the wrestler, but for the sequel, I had to learn the sport. And now I am training for my next, which has boxing as its core.
With Gatta Kusthi 2, you are reuniting with director Chella and Aishwarya Lekshmi. How did that go?
One frustration I have is that directors have not stood by me. But Chella has stood with me for 11 years. Though we have had a lot of arguments, he has always been a great support. I struggle with comedy acting, especially expressing humour through body language. But with Gatta Kusthi 2, I was able to effortlessly act out those scenes, with which I was satisfied.
Aishwarya is Chella’s favourite. Part one was written for her. But I also told her that since part one was focused on Keerthi, part two was focused on my character, and part three will balance both of our characters equally. But she is always interested in making a good film.
One of the highlights of Gatta Kusthi (2024) was the messaging that came with Keerthi’s hair. Did you retain that element?
The first thing that I discussed with Chella was that the hair storyline shouldn’t be recreated for the sequel. Naturally, we wanted to develop something new that would match the intrigue that came with the first film, so we went with a reversal of gender roles.
Veera is a chauvinist who has archaic thinking about women. So his arc in Gatta Kusthi (2024) was to end up as a person whose oppressive notions were broken. But in the sequel, we see him mature even more, as he has become a house husband who takes care of his child and supports his wife’s sporting career.
With Gatta Kusthi 2, the audiences are also eagerly waiting for a ‘Vishnuu Vishal film’. How does that make you feel?
For the first time in my career, I am getting ready for a film, which is shouldering a lot of expectations people have for me, leading up to its release. Previously, people did not look forward to a ‘Vishnuu Vishal film’, and that has always bothered me, as I would wish for the audience to look forward to my film every time an update is released. Gatta Kusthi 2 quenched that thirst as it has garnered hype even with little marketing from our end. The only hope I have is for the audiences to be satisfied with this, and to trust a Vishnuu Vishal film to always meet their expectations in the future.
Some of your older projects, like Bale Pandiya (2010) and Neerparavai (2012), have found resurgence in social media. How do you feel about your films standing the test of time?
Films like Neerparavai (2016) got a lukewarm reception, when I feel it should have been widely celebrated. Even Jeeva (2014) got its due only after it came on television and the songs were aired repeatedly. This has happened frequently in my career. But with the delayed response, I decided that I would do everything in my power so that my film is celebrated during the time of its release. And it is for this reason that I became a producer, because the right thing to do is to celebrate a film during its release and move on from it.