Vasanth Ravi on 'Weapon,' picking genre-specific films and discussing hits and misses

After playing a robust young man in Taramania murderer in Rockya commoner struck by the supernatural Asvinsa cop with a superstar father Gaoler, and a guy entwined in a love triangle Pon Ondru Kanden, Vasanth Ravi has a different mission this time. The actor plays the main role in Armed directed by Guhan Senniappan known for having directed Sawari (2016) and Prime Video's first Tamil original series Vella Raja. “The idea is not to repeat genres, and the shift is done according to the scenarios that I receive. I also look for strengths in my character that would spark interest and curiosity among the audience,” says Vasanth.

“Choosing genre-specific films was not a conscious decision. But doing such projects early in your career is a good transition to choosing commercial films later,” says Vasanth who admits that despite all this, he is not someone who plans his choices. “If the story and the director convince me, I would love to make a full-fledged commercial film. The space has changed thanks to filmmakers like Lokesh Kanagaraj sir and Nelson sir; it's different from what we saw in the 90s and early 2000s. What they are doing is in tune with the general pulse of the audience and I would love to be a part of those films. After ten years, this will change again and we must continue to adapt to the situations, to the tastes of the public and to the directors who will take care of it.

Vasanth adds that he likes the vision of the directors he has worked with, and Armed is no different. “Director Guhan has consumed a lot of DC and Marvel comics and anime since his childhood. For me, listening to the script itself was like a fantasy. He explained the different worlds and how he wants to connect them and create the equivalent of Hollywood cinematic universes,” says Vasanth, who was initially apprehensive about how the final product would end up.

“I had a lot of doubts about the result of the action, the computer graphics and the sound. Fortunately, Guhan was very clear about directing, and I'm happy to have such a film so early in my career. The fantasy element of the film is compelling and will be presented realistically. »

Vasanth also feels that the film's strong technical team has dispelled his initial apprehension. “When I learned that Rajakrishnan sir (national award-winning audiographer) was on board and the music was by Ghibran, I realized the film was strong. During the dubbing, I could see that it was 50% of what Guhan had told me. When I later saw the final cut with CG, sound, music and DI, I was totally convinced. Mr. Rajakrishnan, who works on Kalki 2898 AD, also saw the film and said he now understood Guhan's vision and liked the final product.

In his limited filmography, Vasanth has had a fair share of films with an ensemble cast; In Armed, he stars alongside veteran actor Sathyaraj. “Since I just started my career, I want to position myself as a leader… as long as that happens, I don't mind if it's a multi-starrer or someone shares equal space with me. Gaoler It was, of course, a different kind of film and I wanted to work with Rajini sir, know how he works and what it feels like to be with him on the set. The entire film was about the father-son equation, so the impact was high even though the screen time was less.

Vasanth's business acumen makes him understand the long-term repercussions of a film not doing well. “Successful films happen when the audience feels the same way you do about your film. In addition to being blockbusters, I also want the film to be talked about in a few decades. As for failures, it can prevent the producer from starting another project with another filmmaker and actor, and in a way, I feel responsible for that too… it affects me a lot,” explains -he.

As the conversation turns to the dearth of young love stories, Vasanth says he has a fantastic love story in the pipeline. “Creators are there with a myriad of ideas, but producers should also like to finance such films. I feel that Tamil cinema producers think that thrillers and action films make more money; if a romantic comedy that feels good, like Prémalu proves to be a hit in Tamil, it is likely that more producers will be up for it. Such genres are known to only make a certain amount of money and given that the Malayalam industry has proven otherwise, this may soon have a positive impact on Tamil cinema as well.

Weapon is scheduled to hit theaters on June 7