Vijay Sethupathi as Yaman'

Vijay Sethupathi constantly experiments with his roles and succeeds effortlessly. The presence of yet another hero in his films doesn’t deter him either. The actor takes on a new avatar of a tribal in his untitled forthcoming movie, which has Gautham Karthik as one of the heroes.

Director Arumugakumar, a former assistant to filmmaker Balaji Dharanidharan tells DC how he roped in Sethupathi to play the challenging role of a tribe leader Yaman. “The script demanded two heroes and we already finalised Gautham, who essays a college student hailing from a middle-class family. Due to certain circumstances, the story which starts off in the city, travels to an all-new world — that of dense woods. And for the forest portions, I needed someone sturdy and who can justify the role of a tribal chief and Sethupathi was my first choice. When I narrated the script, he was very happy with the newfangled character and gladly gave his nod.”

Delving more into the subject, he said, “Vijay essays Yaman, the leader of a tribal clan that resides in a forest. It is not a serious and violent native tribe that I portray in the film. On the other hand, they are like tribal clans similar to Kurumbas and Thodas, who still thrive today.  His character is full of zeal and comic in nature, which Sethupathi said he found challenging, when I approached him.”

On the references for his looks, the director says, “Sethupathi will be sporting a new look and I have collected some references. Also, the language he speaks will be a mix of Tamil and Telugu in the movie.” Ask him if Sethupathi has a leading lady, Arumugakumar was quick to reply. “That’s a secret. Can’t reveal much at this point of time.”