Cheering of the audience in theatres excites me: Vishnu

Vishnu Vishal talks to us before his ‘breakfast at 11 pm’. “This lockdown, my entire cycle has changed. I sleep during the day and stay awake at night. So, I have my breakfast, lunch and dinner before all you people wake up in the morning and I go back to sleep. I need to bring my routine back on track,” he begins. Vishnu has a couple of films, FIR and Mohandas under his banner Vishnu Vishal Studios. Despite the government giving the nod for film shoots, the actor says that he will have to play the waiting game. “I’m not in a hurry and I have a few practical reasons. FIR is a film that cannot be shot with a minimal cast. We have a few days of shoot left, where those scenes require huge crowds. I completely understand that small-time technicians are struggling to make their ends meet. But they should be healthy enough to run their families. It’s a bit dicey to shoot immediately as the cases are on the rise. Moreover, actors and technicians shoot for two or more films simultaneously, which will make them vulnerable to contract the coronavirus. I am sure the situation will settle down in a few more weeks,” he explains.

Another reason Vishnu says is that he isn’t eyeing an OTT release for his films. “A star can take a gamble releasing his film on an OTT platform. But I cannot do that because I am someone who has just carved a niche for myself in the industry and would want to see the audience cheering for me when my name appears in the opening credits of a film. They whistle and applaud once the film ends because they know I have given them a good film.” he tells us.

Vishnu shares with us an incident that happened at a theatre 14 years ago. “It was the day of Vishal’s Thimiru release. I couldn’t manage to get a seat for myself and watched it squatting in front of the first row. That was Vishal’s third film of his career and he was already a star. I was smitten by that. So, the audience appreciation is what I look forward to whenever my film releases. So, I am not in a rush to shoot and release it on OTT,” he opens up. The actor concludes saying that he will begin shooting for Mohandas after he completes FIR. “As of now, I need to get back to my routine and fitness regime as well,” he remarks.