Although Dhruv Vikram had acted in two films earlier - Adithya Varma and Mahaan - the actor is currently awaiting his massive break with Mari Selvaraj's gritty sports drama Bison, which is reportedly based on the real life story of a kabbadi player. Ahead of its release, the actor opened up about working in the Arjun Reddy remake (2019) and his emotions associated with the project which was met with multiple roadblocks even before it hit theatres.
In an interview with NDTV, Dhruv asserted that he doesn't regret working in Adithya Varma, despite all the issues it faced. "No, the film was in fact a win for me. Before that, I was a boy who didn't know who could act and how I would fare in comparison with Vijay Devarakonda and Shahid Kapoor sir. The film was received well. Now I have come to realise that I liked my performance in it. It was nice to play the role," he said about the film, directed by Gireesaaya.
For the unversed, Dhruv had worked on two different versions of Arjun Reddy. Varmaa, was directed by Bala and its release was initially cancelled after the makers was unsatisfied with the output and re-shot the remake in 2019 as Adithya Varma with a largely different cast and crew. Varmaa was later released on OTT.
Dhruv also reiterated his stance on perceiving Bison as his first film. While admitting that Adithya Varma is his debut film, the actor underlined that it is still a remake of Arjun Reddy. "Since it is a remake and there's already a original version for the film that was done with absolute perfection by amazing talents. No matter how true I was to the character and how unique I tried to make it in my own way, it was an interpretation. People knew the story and how exactly events would transpire, but they didn't know how I will do it. With Mahaan, I see that as a collaboration between Karthik Subbaraj and my father (Vikram) in which I played a small, but important role. Yet, it was not my film and was an OTT release, but Bison is the first film that I put immense efforts into a project and I am responsible as a protagonist from the beginning to the end. I find it quite defining of the artist that I am going to be," he elaborated.
Dhruv also said that he hasn't watched the film, but is confident that it will hold an important place in Tamil cinema. Opening up on his bond with his father Vikram, he said that it is both a pressure as well as a motivation to "live up to his name". "He pushes me to get out of my comfort zone. It is a very unhealthy process of me constantly having this man's vision on my brain everytime I work, but it pushes me to work hard. I've always thought, 'If he can do so much, I shouldn't be complaining'," he said.
Bison also stars Anupama Parameshwaran, Lal, Ameer, Pasupathi, Rajisha Vijayan Kalaiyarasan, Hari Krishnan Anbudurai, Azhagam Perumal, and Madhan Dhakshinamoorthy. It is produced by Pa Ranjith and Aditi Anand under their Neelam Studios banner, alongside Sameer Nair and Deepak Segal of Applause Entertainment.
The technical crew of the film includes Ezhil Arasu K as the cinematographer, Sakthi Thiru as the editor, Kumar Gangappan as the art director, and Dhilip Subbarayan as the action choreographer. Bison is slated to hit theatres worldwide on October 17 during the occasion of Diwali where it will clash with Pradeep Ranganathan's Dude and Harish Kalyan's Diesel at the box office.