Arulnithi: I would love to do something like Vamsam again

With an acting career that spans over a decade, Arulnithi remains to be a director's actor. He is lauded for his prowess in selecting a story and for working with debut directors. The actor has introduced a number of interesting filmmakers to the Tamil film industry, and the latest addition to that list is Innasi Pandian, who directed the actor's latest crime thriller, Diary. Sitting down to talk about the film, the actor went on to ponder about his script selection process and how he evolved as an actor through the years.

You seem to have an inclination towards crime and thriller genre. Was it a deciding factor while choosing Diary, since it also happens to fall under that genre? 

When I listen to scripts I don’t go in asking what genre they belong to. I let the narration take its course and decide to do a film based on how engaged I am with the script and that is precisely what happened with Diary. 
Even when I take up thriller subjects I make sure that there is something new in them, I look for variations in the way the familiar genre is handled in the script. When I first said yes to Diary, director Innasi Pandian had no clue that I would end up doing D Block and Dejavu. Diary does not deserve this question, it should have rightfully gone to D Block and Dejavu instead since I initially gave my nod to Diary before I did the other two films. 
I’m open to any genre. I would like to do a full-on rom-com, an out-and-out comedy, or a family entertainer. I would absolutely love to do something like Vamsam again.

At what point in Diary’s story narration were you impressed enough to choose it as your next? 

There was no one particular scene or a story moment that ended up turning my decision to a yes, I have to like the entire script and I have to be engaged throughout the narration, and that happened with Diary. 

Following Aarathu Sinam, Naalu Policeum Nalla Irundha Oorum, and Dejavu you’re back to playing a cop. Are police procedural films something that interests you?

If the story interests you, then whatever role you’re supposed to play will inadvertently end up being of interest to you. All the police roles I’ve done so far were demanded by the script and there were no conscious decisions on my part to specifically hunt for such genres or such roles. To be honest there were no specific preparations for any of these films that had me playing a police officer. Only for Naalu Policeum… I was asked by the director to get into shape to better fit the role of a police officer.

How receptive are you to the feedback your acting and films receive? 

I go after films based on how much I like the story. It all depends upon whether I like the story or not. Reactions to my films do not go on to change how I choose a project after that. If I like a script, and even if it is of the thriller genre, I wouldn’t decline it to because I have done many films in the genre. If I like the script then its genre doesn't matter to me. 

How do you respond to negative criticism?

When I hear negative reviews of a film, I would think back to see if we had identified and addressed the issue during filming, and I try to take responsibility whenever the fault is on my side. If at all there is a negative aspect in the film that we had not anticipated then I will take it as a lesson and try to better myself.