Beyond romance, wish to explore psycho genre, says actor Aniiruth Kanakarajan

CHENNAI: Actor Aniiruth Kanakarajan is full of hope, dreams, and a desire in achieving his goals. The Chennai-based youngster's focus shifted towards showbiz during his engineering days. “I always aspired to be on-screen, and it was during my graduation days that Sivakarthikeyan made his mark on the big screens from being a video jockey. That inspired me to push my boundaries and pursue acting,” starts Aniiruth.

With each phase of life, this aspiring actor’s dreams have only become bigger and better. Coming from a humble background, Aniiruth started off as an MC and got his first break in 2017 when he hosted his first live show on a channel. To improve his acting skills, he joined the Chorus Theatre Group, which was a turning point in shifting his perspective about acting. “I realised that doing impactful roles with an intense character arc is what I was profoundly looking for,” he adds. The 30-year-old credits his theatre experience for acing the role of a schoolboy with great conviction in Kana Kaanum Kaalangal Season 3.

Unlike regular beginners, Aniiruth has always taken up challenging opportunities, and his first short film, Manohari, is a testament to it. “I essayed the role of a transgender. As it was my first on-screen opportunity, I had ample freedom to explore the character more and bring in more depth. I overcame my discomfort towards flowers during that project because my role required that. That’s when I was able to comprehend that I would be able to achieve what I set out for,” says the actor, who made his big screen debut in Dharala Prabhu (2020), where he acted as one of Harish Kalyan's friends.

Previously, Aniiruth has worked in the Modern Love Chennai Anthology series. He portrayed the role of Ritu Varma’s school crush in Kaadhal Enbathu Kannula Heart Irukkura Emoji episode, directed by Krishnakumar Ramkumar. Interestingly, he has done a couple of schoolboy roles. However, the Joe actor ensures that none of his characters repeat the traits of the other and always strives hard to bring a unique touch to each of his roles. “Since the beginning, mostly I have been receiving romantic roles. But I wish to explore the psycho-thriller genre and serial killer roles,” he shares with a grin.

We are in an age when being an influencer on social media can garner film opportunities. Agreeing to that, Aniiruth remarks, “It is a sad and unhealthy truth that having a good number of followers on social media makes it easy for a few individuals to enter the world of cinema, without proper acting skills. Unfortunately, not all good actors are great at content creation, and that shouldn’t be a barrier for budding talents to reach the next step.”

Networking gives an upper hand for grabbing chances, as it helps to know about casting calls, and Aniiruth feels working with PRs is essential since they know the industry in and out. “From my experience, I would suggest that aspiring actors should always have another job to fill their stomach until they land in a good position. I was a bright student during my graduation days and left my mechanical job to explore the creative side,” states the founder of Digitally Sparked, a digital marketing firm.

Aniiruth dreams of working with Thiagarajan Kumararaja and wants to explore all the genres of cinema. “I got the Modern Love Chennai opportunity through Kumararaja sir. I am looking forward to being a part of an Instagram mini-series and a web series under a big banner. All the projects are in the scripting stage, right now,” he adds.

He wishes to act in a biopic and wants to embody the character of the person, just like how late actor Sushant Singh Rajput brought Mahendra Singh Dhoni before the audience in MS Dhoni: Untold Story.

Talking about how the film industry has evolved, Aniiruth notes, “We are in the stage of a new era of cinema, where new actors, filmmakers, and technicians are taking over the industry with their unique approach. Even a set of audience is also looking for content-driven films more than just fandom.”