Becoming MGR: How Arvind Swamy got in shape for ‘Thalaivi’

As a child, growing up on a farm in Nazarathpettai near Poonamallee, Arvind Swami used to make long drives every day to his school in Adyar. On his way, he always peeped out the window while crossing Ramapuram, where matinee idol MG Ramachandran lived.

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“Every day, I used to look at that blue-grey gate,” recalls Arvind, sitting comfortably Thalaivi Director Vijay’s Nungambakkam office. “I’ll watch him go out several times, and get excited seeing him from afar.”

His MGR connection did not stop there. A few years later, two German Shepherd puppies born on their farm were purchased by the MGR family. Much later, when Arvind’s father, VD Swami, who was involved in the founding of Shankar Netralaya, invites the actor-politician to the inauguration, Arvind recalls “walking with him and just watching him”.

Cut to 2021, Arvind Swami plays MGR in this week’s theatrical release Thalaivi, a biopic on the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa (played by Kangana Ranaut). It is a different outing for the 51-year-old star, known for his cinematic outings in the 90s. Bombay And fasting And more recently, as a stylish baddie Thani Oruvani.

“It was quite exciting and a huge responsibility, as MGR is probably the most iconic figure in Tamil Nadu, be it films or politics. It was a character from real life, and resembling him meant two things: physicality, which you’ve seen in movies and in public life, and his personal space. That former is a problem you can work on, but there is no reference to the latter. For that, I had to build my understanding of the character and strike a balance between myself and the person I was playing.”

with body and mind

With ample help from award-winning makeup artist Pattnam Rashid, Arvind transformed into MGR. “Keeping in mind the time frame in the film, we divided the character into four sections: young days, middle-aged, political life and when his health deteriorated, and worked on the form accordingly.”

Preparing for the role also included a good understanding of her body. “I had to work very hard to correct his ways; The way he relaxed his hands, or the way he patted his lips while speaking. My body structure is just the opposite; I had to figure out a way to translate it on the screen without any pressure. “

For that Arvind stopped going to the gym for a few years. Aravind, who witnessed a lot of visual material on the actor, says, “His bio-mechanics was very different from mine, and I had to work a lot on specific areas like my feet to do justice to some scenes.” Fix aspects like CM hop-skip and hand movement.

Thalaivi Jayalalithaa and MGR and the MGR-Karunanidhi synergy. “We wanted to show the human side of their relationship and not get into controversies. For example, MGR and Karunanidhi had many differences but they were equally affectionate towards each other,” says Arvind, who is a big fan of MGR films. ambe vas And Ulgam Sutram Valibana.

the way back

There was a major resurgence in Arvind Swamy’s film career in 2015, when he played the role of Siddharth Abhimanyu in the superhit. Thani Oruvani. It was a character he chose and designed very carefully, and looking back, Arvind still feels passionately about that project. “In point films, the villains are usually the punching bag for the hero. At that time, I was looking forward to play someone who has negative complexions, and that [Siddharth Abhimanyu] was quite complicated. I requested the director [Mohan Raja] That at least 33 percent of the audience should shed tears when they die, although you know that must be defeated. Sidharth was in that great gray area where you don’t want him to win, but also don’t want anything bad to happen to him.

Thani Oruvani Directors changed the way they looked at Arvind, and later, he got interesting roles in films like bogan And Chekka Chivanta Vanam. However, nargasooran, which saw her working with young filmmaker Karthik Naren, is yet to see the light of day due to financial constraints.

“As an entrepreneur, I am involved in a business that revolves around process and technology. But I cannot understand the business of cinema. It does not follow any pattern and I find it chaotic It’s most frustrating when you stick with a character for a year and a half, and the public is not even ready to see it.”

Looking ahead, Arvind Swamy is looking forward to starting a new innings as a filmmaker: he has already started well with his first work (rothiram, which means anger) is the most acclaimed movie in Netflix anthology recently, Navarsa. “I Hatred That feeling, but I chose it because my son’s name is Rudra,” he laughs, “the struggle to contain that feeling is a difficult task, which I often fail.”