Vikram on doing films like Anniyan, I, Sethu, Ponniyin Selvan-I: Want to be all those people I can never be in real-life

As someone who grew up in a “cocoon kind of a set up”, actor Chiyaan Vikram said cinema gave him a chance to live life through characters that are poles apart from his real self. Be it the temperamental Sethu in “Sethu”, social animal Chithan in “Pithamagan” or a man suffering from multiple personality disorder in “Anniyan” (“ _Aparichit_ ”), Vikram has built a repertoire for playing distinct and off-centre characters in movies. The actor, whose real name is Kennedy John Victor, said art was always an escape for him from his rigid upbringing. “I studied in the boarding school where if I didn’t go to church I’d get beaten or stuff like that. It was all very strict. I’ve been in a cocoon kind of a set up all my life. The only way I could actually express myself was through the arts, through singing or drawing. “I used to try everything and drama was what got me really excited when I was in third standard,” Vikram told PTI. The actor is now gearing up for Mani Ratnam’s _Ponniyin Selvan- 1,_ which is all set to release on September 30. In an excusive interview with Firstpost, the director, talking about the film, said, " The magic of Kalki’s novel is this. It is set in an era a thousand years back. It was written nearly seventy years back. But it remains relevant even today. The politics, the power-play, human behaviour, sacrifices done for a the larger good, all are relevant. Maybe yesterday, helps us to understand today and leads us into tomorrow. Yes, I think it will be very relevant to the audience today.” He added, “Everyday when I finished the shoot and come out, I would get scared at the size of our crew, the number of caravans, vehicles, animals, juniors, costume team makeup team. It was very scary. The size was really crazy, unreal. Don’t know how we managed to pull it off.” Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.