New Delhi: Actor Vijay Sethupathi and actor-politician Kushboo Sundar were having an interactive masterclass at the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). After receiving cheers upon taking the stage, Sethupathi encouraged the audience not to take the conversations too seriously. He was there for Gandhi Talks, the first-ever silent film, which was screened at IFFI 23.
In his opening statement, the acclaimed actor said, "I had a conversation with my daughter this morning and she asked me what I’ll speak today. I told her how tea is made. So don’t take this (conversation) as a class." He added further, "It’s not a class at all. I don’t even know what to do in front of a camera. Just treat me like one of you. Let’s create and share. And if you don’t understand my language, please refer to my face.”
The actor expressed his gratitude to his wife Jessica Sethupathi for preventing him from returning to Dubai to resume his normal work, saying, "I was just living, going with the flow. Then I fell in love during a wedding in India, got married and my wife didn’t let me return to Dubai, then cinema happened.”
The 'Jawan' actor was asked if he is a method or a spontaneous actor. Replying to it, he said, "To be frank, I don’t know what method acting is. When a director is narrating a script, I wonder why he’s telling the story and why he wanted to make the story. I ask a lot of questions, stupid questions. I understand the essence, and I try to understand the director who’s telling the story. But I don’t follow any formula."
Talking further about taking a break from playing a villain on-screen, Vijay Sethupathi said, "Knowledge is all about people whom you interact with. I got to know some great minds who work in cinema. Who we interact with and the minds that we discuss things with are so important. They plant ideas into your head. There are many pressures and restrictions. They try to stop the character from dominating the hero. I think I will take a break and instead focus on playing the protagonist and character roles."
Sethupathi spoke on his experience starting with his very first movie and the lessons he learned along the way, saying, "In my first movie, I was afraid of making a mistake and I wanted to impress the director." He also added that he now concentrates on the process and acts with considerably more confidence.