As actors go, there are few who could surpass Vikram’s talent and on-screen panache. The 44-year-old cine star from Chennai is presently creating waves in Bollywood with his top-cop act in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. Down south, his ample fan following are bellowing hoarse over his stellar portrayal of Veeraiya in Raavanan, the Tamil version. And Vikram, imperturbable as ever, is basking in the glory and criticism that is being meted out by both factions.
While the critics have made it their personal agenda to dissect Mani Ratnam’s Raavan in every possible way, Vikram, who seems to have found great favour with the veteran director, is confident of his performance in the flick and is happy to accept feedback, even if it is critical. He’s one of the most sophisticated actors Kollywood has ever seen and there are very few in the industry who use unsavoury words for Vikram. His shy but friendly demeanour have ensured him a huge (albeit more sensible) fan following, which judge their hero truly based on his performance in a film and not get blown away by malicious media hype.
Vikram aka John Kennedy, has acted in more than 40 Tamil films. The first 20 or so that spanned the initial 10 years of his career were far from memorable, and he was in wilderness through most of these years. The actor, who prides himself on his hard work and commitment to every single project he undertakes, was flummoxed by the spate of flops in the initial years. For someone who harboured ambitions of being an actor from as young an age as eight, the initial years of his career were not only disheartening, they were also a test of astronomically severe proportions.
His sagging career was preceded by a fatal accident and Vikram, who was then in his final year of college at Chennai, was hit by a moving truck only to lose use of both his legs for nearly three years. Even today, he thanks the Almighty each and every day for having given him a second lease on life. No wonder he is fiercely protective of his family and children and makes sure that they are kept away from the prying eyes of the celebrity crazy media.
From a small-town boy, to fumbling actor, to hero par excellence and now the newest entrant into Bollywood, Vikram has seen and experienced it all. But being the level-headed man that he is, he’s certainly not trying to shift focus from the south. He says he already has his hands full there and is unwilling to give Bollywood less than his best. “Undoubtedly, Bollywood cinema will bring me close to a larger audience, but my hands are already full down south,” he says.
Speaking of his performance in Raavan, Vikram says that playing two roles – the vindictive Veeraiya who abducts Ragini in the Tamil version of the film titled Raavanan and Dev, the strait-laced cop whose wife is kidnapped by Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) in the Hindi version Raavan, was not an easy task for him. “We were shooting for both films side by side. At times it was extremely difficult to alter my expressions and actions for both roles,” he says, explaining how he had to switch from tough cop to crazed tribal lord in the span of an hour. However, he’s quick to add that working alongside “Mrs and Mr Bachchan Junior was an awesome experience” and given the right script and the right director, he would be more than willing to do another Bollywood flick.
Fondly called Chiyaan, a reference to his role of a distraught lover in Sethu, Vikram tasted success for the first time in 1999 with the release of this mega successful film. His portrayal of a rough and tough college student who falls in love with a timid girl, only to lose his mental capabilities due to a gruesome head injury, won him many accolades (It was remade in Hindi as Tere Naam, which starred Salman Khan). He received his first award, the Tamil Nadu State Jury Award for Best Actor for his startling performance in Sethu, after which they’ve been rolling in quick succession. Three Filmfare awards for Best Actor for Kaasi, Pithamagan and Anniyan, a National Film Award for Best Actor for Pithamagan as well as an ITFA Best Actor award for Gemini are some of the more significant prizes that line his mantle.
Though a superstar, Vikram is reluctant and shy. He is probably one of the few actors down south who keeps his wife and children well away from the arc-lights. Few people from the industry know or have met with his wife Shyla. A psychologist by profession, Vikram says that his wife is the anchor in his life. “She never complained and the hardships that we faced early on have taught us to lead a simple life even today,” he says. The couple have two children – a daughter Akshitha and a son Druv. His mother Rageshwari is a retired sub-collector and is the focal point of Vikram’s life. Rumour has it that the man rarely does anything without first running it past his mother and wife.
“I don’t want my family to lose its freedom, hence I try as far as possible to shield them from the limelight,” he says when questioned about his decision to keep his wife and kids away from his film premiers and functions. “I am unable to do anything – even walk into a mall in Chennai. I don’t want them to go through the same thing.” Vikram has a fan-following so large that many times his fans are seen celebrating, worshipping and adorning his film posters prior to a release. This is a common phenomenon in the south. Hence, Vikram has frequently been compared with film icons Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan for having driven his audience into mass-hysteria mode.
Everything you wantedto know about Vikram aka John Kennedy
- Born John Kennedy Vinod Raj in Paramakudi in Ramanthapuram district, Tamil Nadu, on 17 April, 1966, he went to the Montfort School school, Yercaud before opting to do a BA in English Literature from Loyola College, Chennai.
- His father, Vinod Raj, is also an actor. The two starred together for the first time in Kanthaswamy, one of Vikram’s most recent hits.
- He had huge colossal flops for the first ten years of his career, but continued to hold on to his dream to be a successful actor.
- He calls himself Chiyaan Vikram after his role of a distraught lover in blockbuster Sethu, which was also his breakthrough film.
- He won a National Award in 2003 for Pithamagan. He played a man who grew up in a jungle and didn't know human language.
- After Raavan, he’s doing a Tamil psycho-thriller directed by Selvaraghavan, in which he plays three different characters.
