Arulnithi Interview: “Our story has nothing to do with the Bollywood film Barfi”

In this chat with Only Kollywood, actor Arulnithi, best known for his penchant to choose content-oriented and character-driven films, talks about his upcoming release Brindhavanam with director Radha Mohan, his upcoming film Iravukku Aayiram Kangal and more.

“We chose the title as Brindhavanam because the entire film is set in the backdrop of Ooty. Also, we felt this title befits considering the story,” Arulnithi told Only Kollywood.

Arulnithi plays the role of a deaf and mute person in the movie, much on the lines of Jyothika’s role in Mozhi. “Vijaya Bhaskar ma’am of Pudhiyathalaimurai channel trained me for a week. She had great energy level. Initially, she thought I am not capable of doing this; even I had the same hunch. My demeanor shocked her; she asked me why I am doing everything with a grumpy face. After doing Demonte Colony and a drunkard in Aaradhu Sinam, it took some time for me to change that.”

Arulnithi also debunks the rumors that Brindhavanam is inspired from the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Barfi directed by Anurag Basu.

“Our story has nothing to do with the Bollywood film Barfi. The story is about an ordinary guy who works at a salon and is an ardent fan of Vivek sir. The happenings after he accidentally meets Vivek sir is what the story is about. The lead character is a mute hair stylist, who always service the customer with the TV on and playing Vivek Sir’s comedies,” he says.

“We were shooting for the sequence where I accidentally meet Vivek sir. The director asked me to take inputs from the crowd that went hyper seeing him on the location. The comedy sequences had insights from the director and Vivek sir,” added Arulnithi.

“Radhamohan sir and I had a meeting during Demonte Colony‘s shooting. I really wonder what he saw in me. This role needed good performance when I was skeptic about doing this character, he gave the confidence and asked me to try something different. Though I managed to learn the sign language, I had doubts about me doing this role until the day of our shoot. After the first take, it was gone. Director Radhamohan sir will get the best from the actors easily without having to be stressed.”

On his ongoing film, “Iravukku Aayiram Kangal is a thriller based on the events that happen overnight. I would say this film will be very significant for Ajmal after Ko. Anand Raj sir has a role which he has never done before. The film has many artists like Mahima Nambiar, John Vijay, Chaya Singh” said Arulnithi

I always had discussions with my brothers about the movies I do. After Thagaraaru, we didn’t do a joint venture, but we will revive such plans when proper circumstance arise. Initially, my film was scheduled for May 12th release; later we rescheduled it since my brother’s (Udhayanidhi’s Saravanan Irukka Bayamaen) was also slated for the same day.