Actor Arun Vijay's Thadam can easily be listed among one of the most engaging dual-action films in Tamil cinema in recent times. He returns to familiar territory with his upcoming film, Retta Thala, helmed by Kris Thirukumaran, who made his directorial debut with Sivakarthikeyan's Maan Karate. Arun Vijay, however, says Retta Thala does not operate in the framework of Thadam, but more like a Billa.
Recounting the scope of drama the Magizh Thirumeni directorial would have had with the identical confusion, Arun Vijay says Retta Thala has two identical characters, but with different looks. "Unlike the identity confusions created by twin brothers switching places in Thadam, I have four looks in Retta Thala. It will be a stylised gangster film that will have a lot of action scenes, but with a strong emotional core. In Thadam, however, there was just one action sequence, and it was more about psychological games rather than hand-to-hand combat."
After making an intense film like Vanangaan, Arun Vijay picked Retta Thala because he wanted to make a movie that could provide the audience with theatrical joys. However, it didn't end up being any less intense since Retta Thala was fraught with challenges, especially since he had just finished filming Vanangaan. "Bala sir wanted me to stop working out and develop a belly for Vanangaan. During filming, I sustained an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear. This injury restricted me from doing intensive workouts to get fit for Retta Thala. The only way to get into shape without cardio exercises was through dieting. But again, Retta Thala is a high-octane action film, and filming stunts too risked aggravating my injury. And on the performance front, due to the production taking place in complex locations, I had no time to switch my sensibilities from one character to the other. I play Malpe Upendra and Kaali in the film, and in some scenes, I just had 15 minutes to switch my body language. And it got even worse when we were filming scenes where the two characters faced off. Also, I had to sport a real cornrows hairdo with a brace. Your head starts hurting 45 minutes into the look, and the spokes of the braces stick out and irritate the gum. With that, I had to speak lines with a modulation and intonation specific to the character. But yeah, despite all this, these are the things that excite me as an actor."
Filmmaker Kris Thirukumaran is returning to films after a hiatus of nine years with Retta Thala. He previously made the Udhayanidhi Stalin starrer Gethu (2016). Arun Vijay said things fell perfectly in place, and it was the exact script he was looking for at this point of his career. "He had set the mood of a Billa and a Don kind of a film and believed that I could pull it off. Kris had created a clear description for both characters. I started the Retta Thala shoot with a Vanangaan hangover, and it was the director who fine-tuned my performance and was direct with his responses if I stepped out of the boundary he drew for my characters. He gave me a lot of input throughout the project. I like working with directors who are as invested as the actor in bringing out the best performance."
Emphasising the need for such a healthy rapport between directors and actors, Arun Vijay added he has developed a nice friendship with actor-director Dhanush in Idly Kadai and that it is interesting to see an actor in the space of a director. "The advantage of an actor also directing his film is that his character can be tweaked so that nothing is amiss. But it is a high-pressure job. As an actor, you just need to take care of your performance, but as a director, you should maintain correspondence and coordinate between every department. I asked Dhanush how demanding this job is, to which he said he likes to be a director and helming a film gives him satisfaction. The advantage I enjoyed is that Dhanush is a director who can think like an actor and knows how to keep an actor comfortable. Also, as a friendly gesture, he has sung for a number in Retta Thala for which we convinced him by making him listen to a dummy version that had an AI-generated voice of his." (laughs)
Arun Vijay also revealed that he is playing the antagonist in Idly Kadai, but believes in the futiilities of characters being categorised in limited boxes. He points out that such labelling might be why someone like him, who generally plays the hero, would feel odd to be cast in such roles. "In every film, every character, irrespective of positive or negative, is a tool to drive the plot and to set the story in motion. If my role is going to be pivotal in driving the plot, I don't mind playing the bad guy in a film. At the end of the day, I am just an actor looking for interesting roles; I cannot be adding too many filters in choosing films. My character has a good arc in the film. Take, for instance, Yennai Arindhaal, Victor is still loved, despite being an antagonist, because he had a justification to go against the hero."
Reinforcing his opinion on taking up interesting roles irrespective of image, Arun Vijay says that even in Retta Thala, every character, much like in real life, is grey. "The core of the film is about whether you would do things for love or money. This adds to the emotional narrative of an otherwise action-packed film. Every character being grey is the most amusing factor of the film, giving it a grounded approach. Also, no character is infallible in the film; situations thrown at them will make even the seemingly daredevil step back and rethink their decision. The film with such a realistic approach is packaged with all the theatrical elements that will jolt you and give an interval-like twist every 15 minutes in the film."