‘Powerful characters speak volumes than screen time’

Arjun Chidambaram talks to us as he awaits his call from Madras Talkies to join the final schedule of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan. He also has Vasanthabalan’s untitled project and another film that will be directed by Balaji K Kumar of Vidiyum Munn fame. “Each of these roles I have currently taken up are that of a protagonist. Like they say “Fifty Shades of Grey”, each of them are different from one another, which is so exciting. However, I don’t want to be typecast in this niche and would also look for something more substantial in future,” begins Arjun. 

He reminisces his role of Adhik in Ajith’s Nerkonda Paarvai and says, “My screen time in Nerkonda Paarvai was a little over 20 minutes. However, people remember it because it had a strong screen presence. Again, Johnny from Madras, and Dancing Rose from Sarpatta Parambarai were characters whose screen time was limited but their impact on screen was huge That is how I would love to be remembered by the audience. Comedy is another territory I haven’t explored yet.”

Arjun has been taking it one at a time because he has been sporting a long-hair look for Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan for almost two years now. “I am going through an identity crisis now. I haven’t seen myself in short hair and have to scroll through my phone’s gallery to see how I used to look in 2019,” he laughs. “I was supposed to shoot for Ponniyin Selvan between December 2019 and July 2020. Due to the pandemic, we have taken almost two years to complete the film. I had to take care of myself to maintain the look for continuity. I will have to retain my long hair until Mani sir calls it a ‘packup’. We are in the final stages of shooting,” adds Arjun. 

Talking about working with Mani Ratnam, Arjun says, “I was given a choice by Madras Talkies whether I wanted to do Vaanam Kottatum or Ponniyin Selvan and I chose the latter. Though I play a small role in this massive project, I am glad that I will be a part of one of the most important projects of Indian cinema. My conversations with Mani sir revolved mostly around my character. I believe, he was convinced with my performance. However, I had to take a little bit of shouting from him as well. Ponniyin Selvan has taught me how to be persistent and believe in myself. ”

Talking about his upcoming projects, he says that he hasn’t signed anything yet. “I have been listening to scripts and nothing is concrete as of now. I would sign a project when I feel it is worth it. I prefer quality over quantity,” he signs off.