VIKRAM AT DAVID MEDIA INTERACTION STILLS | CVF

Chiyaan Vikram at David Hindi Movie Media Interaction Stills

Vikram: Fame in Bollywood is new to me

   Tamil movie star Vikram talks about coming to terms with stardom in the Hindi film industry. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he has his roots in the south Indian film industry where people are more polite than in Bollywood; or perhaps it's just because he is a newcomer. 
    In any case, Vikram, basking in the success of his role as a drunk fisherman in David, is cordial and softspoken. His media manager has scheduled an insane number of interviews that have to be wrapped between 12noon and 5pm. If he is irritated with crammed schedule, he doesn't show it. For most part, he is jovial and has the 'buddy' air that most newcomers in Bollywood have. Yet, there is a certain amount of earnestness in Vikram that you cannot miss. 
   When he speaks about his work the joking stops and he gets down to business. This isn't his first film in Bollywood. Like many before him, after having received tremendous success in Tamil cinema, Vikram hoped to carve a niche in Bollywood. His first outing was the disastrous Ravan where he played a second fiddle to Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. The film released, was tanked and Vikram's Bollywood dreams seemed all but over. 
    Then David happened. Critics, audiences and those who matter in Bollywood largely had good things to say about him in the film that received only an average opening alongside Midnight's Children and Vishwaroop. Today, on a fine winter afternoon in a plush Mumbai suburb, Vikram is basking in the warm glory of his personal success as he settles down for this interview. Edited excerpts: Are you happy with the response that you are getting for the film? I am very happy I am getting a good response for the film. I didn't expect it. 
    I knew there would be a good response when I signed the movie, but the way girls especially like my role, is really a pleasant shock for me. What kind of response did you get from the industry and fans? It is just four days since the release and I have already got five offers for films, so I think people have noticed my work. The movie is doing good in theatres too. I am used to this kind of fan following in Chennai, but Ravan had got mixed reviews and my character did not garner that much attention. So this is kind of new for me in Bollywood. I went to see the film in a theatre twice, once in Jaipur and once in Mumbai, to see audience reactions. 
   It was nice to see people laughing the moment I came on screen and even before I do anything that is funny. I entered the theatre after the show started so that nobody could see me, only the person sitting next to me knew I was there and told me, 'you are cute'. I got three offers of marriage. I told them I was married. This is the first time I have got marriage proposals but it is because girls sympathise with my character. I am a loser in the film and they feel sad for me. In my other films I am a tough guy. The last time I met you, you said speaking in Hindi was like giving birth to a child... I did? It still is, only now it is a caesarean; somebody helps you deliver it. 
    How was it playing a drunken fisherman? Did you have to drink a lot? Yeah, every shot I would tell them to give me liquor or else I will not shoot (laughs). I am an actor so I have to enact it. It is funny because in the next film I play a serial killer; just imagine, I will have to kill everybody! It is interesting because I have never played a drunkard in my life so I really enjoyed doing that Why have you entered Bollywood so late in life? I am doing fairly well in the South and there is no compulsion for me to act in any other language film. Everything is set for me: 
   I am working with big banners and big directors like Shankar and Mani Ratnam, I get a wonderful script and I get paid as well as any hero here. So, I don't need to work here as money is not an issue. I want to do something that really gets me excited. I thought David was that kind of role where my character was significant. So many people have called me. I am sure there is some deadly film working its way towards me. What do you have to say about southern films remade in Bollywood? The new trend is masala films but I don't know how long it will last, maybe a year or two, or it may frizzle out in six months. Even earlier, Hindi cinema had lots of masala films and remakes from the south. 
   A masala film helps to get Rs 100 crore, but then you still have Barfi! and Kahaani which were not masala films but still did good business. In Chennai masala films make lots of money but films like Barfi! and Kahaani will not make enough. They will be restricted to only cities, which is sad and which is why I say Hindi audiences have evolved. It is nice to work in films that cater to audiences who are tolerant of everything and open to any topic. 
    David is dubbed in Tamil so what was the response you got there? It didn't do good business there because they don't understand the concept. Also, from the Tamil point of view, my screen time is very little. They are not able to comprehend why I am doing such a film. I knew it wouldn't work there. They wouldn't understand why the hero is punching a woman and wants to run away with his best friend's woman, why he gets slapped by every woman, the pace of the film...it's a different audience. Do you want to do films in Bollywood because it satisfies your creative urge as you mainly do masala movies? I don't do only masala movies. 
   I do both kinds of movies. In the south too I do very hard hitting films. I played a person with a mental disability in Deiva Thirumagal, I did Pithamagan where I played a grave digger and I played a blind man in Thaandavam. Most of my films are performance-oriented. I do commercial potboilers like Samy or Dhool but even there I play a very strong character. I am looking at (Bollywood) as another language option. It has a bigger market and more people are going to see the films. I wanted to do David because it had an exciting plot and my story was very interesting (there are three different stories in David). If that happens in Bhojpuri or in Bengali, I am ready to do it. 
   I am very happy with the way things are down south. What is nice (in Bollywood) is that directors are working on really good scripts. That is tempting. Also, there are lots of good directors and good stories happening. I have got lots of enquiries since David released -- at least five already. I have not heard the script but will do that soon. I am sure I will do lots of Bollywood films in future. 
    What was the response after Ravan? After Aparachit (his first dubbed Tamil movie in Hindi) I got lots of offers, about 17, but after Ravan I got just three offers. But after David I am open to doing more Hindi movies as I am comfortable in Hindi. I am confident and can experiment with my roles in Hindi. So from Ravan to David, did you practice your Hindi? Not really. In Ravan I would be given dialogues just before the shot was taken and sometimes the whole scene would be just one shot, so it would be really difficult. With David I had my dialogues 10 days in advance so I knew my dialogues and I could concentrate on my acting. I had Karan Kashyap (who helped him in Ravan too) who helped me with my dubbing. He is amazing. He doesn't give up. He told me I was improving. 
    You have only worked with South Indian directors in Hindi; is it because you are more comfortable working with them? Not really. I did Mani Ratnam's Ravan because he did not get anyone he was happy with. I did not want to do a role in a Hindi film but he said I should do it, it would be interesting. Bejoy (Nambiar) was working with Mani sir during Ravan and he told me about David. I did not pay much attention but when I saw Bejoy's Shaitan, I was bowled over. I called him and asked him if he still wants to do David because I was now ready. 
   So, he did not offer me the role actually I called him to say you have that script let's do it. He wanted me to do Neil's (Nitin Mukesh) character but when I heard the whole script, I liked the character that I eventually did. Bejoy did not want me to do it; he told me it is for a character artist or a comedian. I told him that if you give me this then I will do it, otherwise I won't do it. After the film was shot, when Bejoy saw it on the editing table, he called up and said 'Sir, you are looking so nice in it and we are all laughing. I don't think anyone could have played this role better than you.' 
    Neil's character had a poetic slant. If I was given the choice, I would have loved to do all the three characters. In fact, I told Bejoy to let me do all three even though he had already shot Vinay Virmani's character. Even Neil wanted to play all the three Davids. I would have done all the three roles showing different physical traits for all three. It would be interesting for any actor to do all the three roles. Though there are three different Davids and three different stories, we never share each other's space or scenes in the film; the three never meet so we have different tracks. In my story, once I come in, my story travels with me, it is just about me. I found that very interesting. 
    You haven't done a full-fledged role in Hindi movies, not in Ravan nor in David. I would rather do a role like this, which gives me recognition, than do ten films playing a solo hero which doesn't have the same impact. People will always say I am a south (Indian) actor, (and wonder if) I will be able to do a Hindi film. But after seeing David, people will know that I can handle a Hindi script and I can do a good job. What was the difficult part of the movie? Diving into the water in the first scene was very difficult. I am not very comfortable with diving into the sea. 
   I was nervous and uncomfortable. They did the shot with someone else and I didn't like the dive, so I said I would do it. In the first take itself I did an okay job. But I dived three more times. Other than that, the role was so much fun.

Fishing in choppy waters | CVF

With “David” Tamil superstar Vikram tries to win over Hindi film audiences by showing them his ‘actor’ side

   Time and again we have actors crossing the Vindhyas to try their luck in the Hindi film industry with varying results. This week it is the turn of Vikram, the National Award winning Tamil superstar who will be seen in Bejoy Nambiar’s bilingual “David”. Set in three different time periods, the film is about three Davids fighting their Goliaths. Vikram’s “Anniyan” did good business in its dubbed version and he was appreciated for playing Dev in Mani Ratnam’s “Raavan”. In fact, it was his natural performance which was held responsible for highlighting the lacunae in Abhishek Bachchan’s efforts in playing the title role. 
    Vikram says he was waiting for a “David” kind of script. “I got many offers after ‘Raavan’ but I didn’t want to do it for numbers.” Vikram is one of those artistes who moved on from an actor to become a star and he realises it. He was offered the role of David played by Neil Nitin Mukesh but he declined it. “The character is very stylish and hard hitting but I had already played tough guy with shades of grey in ‘Raavan’. I didn’t want the Hindi film audience to say that Vikram is repeating himself. My strength is acting and ‘David’ will showcase that. People will watch and say ‘Wow! He can act’.” 
    So he opted for David who lives in Goa. “It is like being normal but at the same time performing. I had to look as normal as you see somebody on street but still not being me. It was tricky otherwise there was no challenge as such for me at this stage of my career,” says Vikram. Bejoy wanted to cast a comedian or a character artiste, somebody from stage for the role. “He said it is not ‘that’ kind of role. I said that’s why I want to do it. I enjoyed it. He is very carefree, irresponsible, loser…there is nothing that works for him but everything around him is funny. It is not slapstick comedy, though. People will find him cute. You will start falling in love with this character. It is the actor side doing a star’s role.” 
    He insists it is a kind of character which he has not attempted even in Tamil cinema. “He is not bothered about what’s happening around him. If his mother gets a cut he would say ‘Oh! You cut yourself’ and move on. There are fights, there is style but there is so much acting. There was no scope for it but when you will see the film you will say this is not Vikram. Not just Hindi audience, Tamil audience will also feel the same,” he promises. The title suggests that it takes off from the timeless David versus Goliath challenge and Vikram shares that here emotional, physical and spiritual problems take the form of Goliath and how the three Davids counter them indivudually, overcome them, forms the narrative. “There is a strong undercurrent of father-son relationship in all three stories as well. However, Bejoy has taken a very commercial way to present the complex theme. It is an intelligent film for sure but not an intellectual film.”
    Talking about the preparation for the role, Vikram muses, “Sometimes you do homework but sometimes as you are doing the role, you have recollections from your life and you incorporate it. Here I just thought I am playing a Goan, so I should not think too much and let the emotions flow. From costumes to acting style, Bejoy gave a lot of freedom. He wants the actor to enjoy the character and that helped me a lot.” Bejoy’s last film was more about style than substance but Vikram differs with this analysis. “‘Shaitan’ was appreciated by all. Yes, there was style but there was substance as well. Because it was his first film and a small budget film, it didn’t get the kind of attention it should have got in the theatres. ‘David’ might give you a whiff of ‘Shaitan’ but it is not ‘Shaitan’.”    
   One fails to understand why Mani Ratnam didn’t cast him for the Hindi version of “Raavan”. Vikram says he perhaps wanted to exploit Abhishek and Aishwarya, husband and wife, playing Raavan and Sita on screen. “This is a call that Mani Sir had to take and Abhishek worked really hard for the role. As for me doing the role, at that time I didn’t know Hindi well enough and also I find it interesting to play two different roles in the same film. In ‘David’ I found it very boring playing the same character in Tamil and Hindi. I think if Bejoy had given me another role in the Tamil version I would have enjoyed more.” 
    He maintains that language plays an important role. “Now that I know Hindi and even dubbed myself it was difficult for me to shoot the same scene simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil. There were times when after shooting a scene in Hindi I found myself completely blank while doing the same thing in Tamil perhaps because I was thinking in Hindi.” Vikram holds he is not the only one presenting an amalgamation of actor and star. “I think a lot of people are trying. I like what Vidya Balan, Abhay Deol and Farhan Akhtar are doing.” With “Vishwaroopam” getting delayed because of the ban, now three big Tamil films are scheduled to release on the same date. “I feel one of the films might release at a later date. It is a producer’s call but I have full faith in ‘David’. Even if it releases a week later it will attract the attention of cinegoers,” he signs off.


 Between the lines… 

 On his knowledge about Hindi films 

    I don’t watch many Hindi films but my mother does. I only catch up with hit films. “Aradhana” was the first Hindi film that I watched. Then I enjoyed “Yaadon Ki Baarat”, “Sholay”, “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak”, “Maine Pyaar Kiya”, all the hits. I never listened to the language just observed the performances. More than the films, Hindi film music has been an influence. I don’t understand completely but I enjoy the tunes. My mother introduced me to Hindi film music when she gave me the cassette of Mukesh’s songs. It was a collection of songs that Mukeshji performed in the US on his last trip to the country. It moved me a lot. For a long time I didn’t know about Mohammad Rafi or Kishore Kumar. To me Mukesh was the singer in the Hindi film industry. When I told this to Neil he was so touched. He breaks into “Sawan Ka Mahina”…. 

 On Salman Khan doing “Sethu” remake

  I think he did a great job and it was such a big hit. If I had done it nobody would have seen it! 

 On “Vishwaroopam” controversy 
    I think people should understand that some changes could be done to see that the film is released. If there are certain scenes which are objectionable I think people can sit and sort out the matter. After all Kamal Haasan has made the film for the love of cinema.

CREDITS : THE HINDU

CHIYAAN VIKRAM'S DAVID HINDI MOVIE REVIEW

Cast:Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vinay Virmani, Vikram, Tabu, Isha Sharvani, Monica Dogra Director: Bejoy Nambiar 
   It is apparent from the outset that the unusual narrative triptych that constitutes David has inherent potential. It is another matter that it is, at best, only partially realised. Yet, in the end, writer-director Bejoy Nambiar delivers a film that he can be proud of, even more so than of Shaitan. Soaring, stylized, scruffy, scrappy and sharp by turns, David is never low on energy.  
   It plays around with a wide range of emotions, from the extremely intense to the oddly comical, from the flightily romantic to the strictly familial. It is about retribution, love and forgiveness - that is what each of its father-son stories respectively deals with. As the film repeatedly moves from the sublime to the absurd, it courts the risk of careening out of control. Mercifully, it doesn't. With a run time of 155 minutes, David tends to be a tad flabby at times. In other words, its pace is anything but consistent. 
    That apart, the quality of the writing (both in terms of how specific situations are set up as well as in relation to the lines spoken by the less convincing characters) is somewhat uneven. But there is always room for redemption. Negotiate the sudden leaps back and forth between time zones and stories. Overlook the occasional overstretched passages. And discount the gaps in factual accuracy and logic - mid-1970s London was hardly the kind of battleground for Indian secret agents and enemies of the nation that David would have us believe it was.  
   Take that in your stride, and the film, taken as a whole, might just make sense. David displays courage on many fronts. One, none of its three storylines plays out along conventional lines. The tale of vengeance, shot entirely in black and white and set in a sombre Muslim milieu in Bradford, is anything but your average revenge saga.  
   The love triangle - it is about a hard-drinking Goan, a younger friend and a dainty hearing and speech impaired girl - flies off at a delightfully whimsical tangent, never to let go of its zany surrealism. And the thematically strongest, if not necessarily the most riveting, segment of the film - woven around a struggling Mumbai musician's thwarted ambitions and his rediscovery of a misunderstood father in extremely trying circumstances - takes on stark political overtones rooted in the theme of religious fundamentalism. The stories, set in three different eras (1975, 1999 and 2010), are tenuously connected and the film jumps from one to the other as the three male protagonists, all named David, fight their inner demons over a period of exactly a month. 
    David is unique also because it is a rare Hindi film that locates itself exclusively in spaces where India's two principal minority cultures - Muslim and Christian - dominate, without the filmmaker resorting to the cliched ritualistic trappings that go with any such depiction of the communities on the big screen. Interestingly, the only Hindus who are portrayed in David are just fringe players in the tale of a Christian priest and his music-loving son who are assaulted by a marauding mob led by a religious chauvinist (Rohini Hattangadi in a cameo) waging a counterfeit war against 'forced conversions'.  
   For a Mumbai movie, quite a remarkable plot reversal that! Visually, too, David isn't run of the mill, with each of the three stories projecting a distinct feel, texture and colour. The black & white slice, in which Neil Nitin Mukesh is a cold-blooded hitman in the service of a patriarchal real estate tycoon who is on India's black list, is a dark, brooding and bloody gangster drama cast in the mould of a noir thriller where sly whispers and quiet gestures are enough to strike fear in the heart. 
    The Goan segment of the film has a hearty Latino flavour, enhanced markedly by Remo Fernandes' robust rendition of the Konkani festive song, Maria Pitache. He belts out the number as a sloshed David (Vikram) unleashes pandemonium in a ramshackle shack that can barely withstand the all-out depredation. The youngest David - the one in the Mumbai musician's story - is played by a dreadlocked Vinay Virmani (who debuted in 2011 with the Indo-Canadian Speedy Singhs). 
    His Rastafarian look lends parts of the film a Caribbean feel, which is played off against the humdrum trappings of the lower middle class chawl that he lives in. Neil Nitin Mukesh, in Johnny Gaddar mode, delivers a performance that is restrained and yet forceful. Vikram lays into his character with obvious delight and vigour. Vinay Virmani does not break into a sweat in articulating the anguish and anger of a young man who seeks elusive answers from an insensitive world. 
    The supporting cast is also a notch above the ordinary. Nasser (as the priest) and Tabu (as a spirited Goa massage parlour owner and David's wordly-wise confidante) make the most of the limited opportunities they are given. Monica Dogra (as Noor, the girl in love with the London assassin) and Isha Sharvani (the hearing and speech impaired beauty) aren't wasted either. Especially striking is Dogra's warts-and-all interpretation of a convention-defying woman who loves her man too passionately to care a damn about social and religious niceties. 
   David has enough sinew to offset its share of flaws. Strongly recommended.

CREDITS : NDTV

CHIYAAN VIKRAM'S DAVID HINDI MOVIE REVIEW | CVF

Bejoy Nambiar dares to be different :
    Experimenting with and implementing out-of-the-box ideas aren’t as easy as they seem to be. Bejoy Nambiar, who made his inroads to Hindi cinema with ‘Shaitaan’, which garnered rave reviews, has now come up with a visually thrilling piece of art- ‘David’. 
    Nambiar has an unusual way of story-telling. With ‘David’, he unfolds stories of the three protagonists of the film who share a common name. The times they belong to are different and so are the places they hail from. With action, romance and comedy in somewhat proportional lengths, Nambiar strikes a healthy balance that doesn’t leave you jaded. Neil Nitin Mukesh (David) is based in London in 1975. Ghani, a dreadful and a very powerful gangster raises Neil and showers him with all his love, something which his biological son is deprived of. And Neil knows how to return the favours. For him, the world starts and ends with his father-figure Ghani. Nambiar intelligently introduces the other characters. 
   Vinay Virmani (David), who hails from a lower middle class Christian family in Mumbai in 1999, is an aspiring singer. And a notorious yet responsible son that he is to a very compassionate father, dreams of making it big in the field of music. 
    And then after comes Vikram (David), a fisherman from Goa in 2011. The happy-go-lucky guy, David sinks into alcohol for having been betrayed by his would-be wife. A man, who since then keeps a safe distance from women, confides his feelings to his dear friend Frenny, a small time body massage parlour owner. 
    Nambiar thoughtfully builds the stories of the three protagonists in his film who are diverse in all spheres- their situations, their dilemma, their miseries and their destinies. Yet in the end, their lives do bear a striking resemblance, for the way they conduct them, leave a strong poignant connect that knows no other language- but the language of love. Neil Nitin Mukesh looks incredibly handsome in the film. He has pulled of a stunning performance and this character of his will certainly make producers queue up to him for their next. Raw talent Vinay Virmani is impressive and looks promising as an actor. 
   And Tamil superstar Vikram is fabulous. The ladies in the film, though each of them has meaty roles to play, do hold great significance. Monica Dogra (Noor) not only looks gorgeous but also delivers an incredible performance. Isha Sharvani (Roma) has done a decent job but the lady who steals the show is the very talented Tabu (Frenny). The other characters that had pivotal roles to play have done complete justice to their respective roles. Their realistic portrayals are worth applause. The juxtaposition of the three stories is smooth and the transitions aren’t surprisingly jarring (considering the diametrically different times they belong to). R Rathnavelu, PS Vinod and Sanu Verghese have been quite good behind their cameras and their efforts have paid off rich dividends, for the film looks visually appealing. 
    The songs are intricately woven with the storyline and are soothing. Remo Fernandes’ Goan number will tempt you to shake a leg. And of course the all time hit number originally composed by Sufi Legend Bulleh Shah ‘Damadam Mast Kalandar’ sees a brand new way of representation. The film successfully keeps you wondering about what will unfold next, for A Sreekar Prasad, the man with those sharp magical scissors has done a commendable job. The film looks neat, crisp and intriguing. And the climax holds a surprise. The mise-en-scene is apt and does look every bit realistic. And so do the characters, who look quite familiar and very much unlike the ones specifically designed for films. 
    Nambair, is perhaps one of those young filmmakers in the country, who believes in delivering something hatke. And with his second Hindi movie ‘David’, the talented filmmaker only promises to bring forth more such creative works on celluloid. Don’t give this film a miss. So do grab your ticket at the earliest and treat yourself with something that’s never seen before.

 Rating : **** 

 CREDITS : Zeenews

Vikram at DAVID Live in Concert Stills

Chiyaan Vikram, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Vinay Virmani perform for their 'David' at Hard Rock Cafe January 14, 2013 - Vikram - South Super Star along with Neil Nitin Mukesh and Vinay Virmani and director Bejoy Nambiar joined Shweta Pandit and Isha Sharvani to promote 'David' movie as part of the ‘DAVID Live in Concert’ at the Hard Rock Café in Mumbai.

Photos Credits : http://socialdhabba.com

DAVID Audio Launch Stills

Chiyaan Vikram and Jiiva Starrer DAVID Audio Launch Stills

David Audio Launch Posters

Chiyaan Vikram and Jiiva Starrer David Audio Launched Today at Rani Seethai Hall in Chennai

DAVID Audio ACD Covers both Hindi and Tamil

DAVID Audio ACD Covers both Hindi and Tamil