It was an education

It was an education: Vijay Victor
TNN Jun 6, 2011, 12.12pm IST

Talk about making an entrance with a bang; and that is exactly what 'Chennai Man' Vijay Victor has managed to do.

Making his debut as the negative lead against Mammootty in National Award-winning director Jayaraj's Malayalam feature The Train, Vijay has had an impressive launch and is looking forward to a good innings in the film industry.

"The entire experience was educational," reveals Vijay. "Working with Mammootty is one of the greatest things that has happened to me," he says, adding that getting to work with a killer combination like Mammootty and Jayaraj is a dream opening for any actor On his role in The Train, Vijay explains that he plays a terrorist plotting to bomb the Mumbai metro train line. "I didn't have many dialogues . In fact, I was expected to look distant and menacing, and it was all about my expression and body language," he says. "Jayaraj told me that my eyes were my greatest assets. Though initially I didn't get what he meant by that, it made sense as we began shooting," he explains.

To rehearse for his role, he went around Mumbai, doing a quick-round up of a few stations. "There were so many times I was stopped by cops because I wouldn't walk in through metal detectors . I would keep trying to find ways to creep inside," he explained. "I looked suspicious and even got whacked with a lathi by a cop once," he laughs.

Vijay will next be spotted in another Jayarajflick Pakarnnattam, a Dostoyevsky-esque tale of crime and guilt. Also on the cards is his role in Naan, where music director Vijay Antony makes his debut as an actor. "I play Vijay Antony's friend in the film," he says. "Actually, Naan was the first film I signed."

For someone who was initially not keen on getting into films, Vijay was approached for Naan when he was spotted on a television channel after winning the title of Chennai Man in 2009.

"A series of events later, here I am, three films down and raring to go for more!"