Deccan Chronicle
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A versatile talent in demand

Deccan Chronicle| Kirubhakar Purushothaman

Published on: August 1, 2017 | Updated on: August 1, 2017

From being a fan of Rajinikanth to acting along side his idol, Manikandan's journey has been fascinating.

Mani with Madhavan in Vikram Vedha.

Mani with Madhavan in Vikram Vedha.

Vikram Vedha is undoubtedly the talk of  town. In addition to having a brilliant story and being quality fare, the film has also identified a budding talent, Manikandan, who has written the dialogues for the film and played a strong role in it.

Manikandan is many things at once — he has directed an indie film titled Narai Eluthum Suya Saritham, which has won honours at five international film festivals. He has been a RJ at a popular FM channel, and also a dubbing artist for films and TV shows. The latest achievement is that the young actor has bagged a role in Rajinikanth’s Kaala.

From being a fan of Rajinikanth to acting along side his idol, Manikandan’s journey has been fascinating. "Mimicry was my first tryst. A popular reality comedy show turned out to be a platform for me. I was the runner-up of a season and I realised that my voice is my talent. So, I went on to become a RJ and then dubbed for shows," he begins.

Later he started playing small roles in films like India Pakistan and Netru Indru Naalai, and eventually bagged a role in Nalan Kumarasamy’s Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum — "It was during the shoot, I got pretty friendly with Vijay Sethupathi anna. After that project, I went on to act in 8 Thottakal, and then I got a call from Vijay anna who said  Pushkar and Gaythri wanted to meet  me for a role. It was initially an audition but then I was asked to work on the dialogues. Eventually, I ended up writing for the entire movie."

Writing for films is not new to Manikandan since he has already written and co-directed Pizza 2 -Villa. Talking about his role in Rajinikanth’s Kaala, an excited Manikandan says, "Pa. Ranjith once called me and told me that my YouTube channel Sari Pesi Papom was pretty interesting. Later, I was called for an audition for which many actors came. But at the end, I got the role. It is really great to work with someone like Superstar."

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