Vijayanand: Nihal opens up about playing Vijay Sankeshwar in the biopic

'I am completely elated to be part of Kannada's first official biopic that too on my idol Padma Shri Vijay Sankeshwar who has inspired millions of lives,' said actor Nihal

Actor Nihal, who proved his acting prowess in Chowka and Trunk, will be seen essaying the role of logistics mogul Vijay Sankeshwar in much-anticipated biopic Vijayanand. Backed by VRL Film Productions, the biopic is helmed by hit filmmaker Rishika Sharma and the music is scored by Gopi Sundar.

From theatre and TV to movies, Nihal’s journey happened as a natural progression. A Company Secretary by profession, he wanted to be a star since his childhood. He quit his well-paying job to pursue his passion. His acting journey started with Ranga Shankara in 2013 after which he slowly moved into TV, and then films happened. Nihal is one of those actors who knew their potential and worked towards it.

In a telephonic conversation with DH, Nihal talked about playing Vijay Sankeshwar and narrated his journey in films.

“For me, portraying the role of Vijay sir on screen was nothing but a dream-come-true moment. We both hail from Hubli–Dharwad, Karnataka and I grew up listening to the inspirational stories of Vijay sir. He is not just a businessman but more than that. His journey and achievements are something the entire Karnataka is proud of.”

“Rishika and I were discussing the idea of making a biopic as we wanted the world to know the journey of the tycoon who brought a revolution in the field of logistics. We met Vijay sir and Anand sir. The meeting, which was planned for 10 minutes, lasted nearly seven hours. We were left completely awe-struck by Vijay and Anand sir’s humbleness. We are very happy that they trusted us and we bagged the rights to make a movie on his life,” said the ‘Trunk’ fame actor Nihal.

“I still remember meeting Vijay sir", he said

"I will be more than happy to produce the movie as I don’t want to burden you guys as this is my story." I would like to thank Anand sir as they came forward to turn producers for this project.” Nihal added.

“The movie narrates Vijay Sankeshwar's journey from 1950 to 2015 and I am fortunate to have played all the phases. I gained nearly 22 kg to essay the character. I am completely elated to be part of Kannada's first official biopic -- that too on my idol Padma Shri Vijay Sankeshwar who has inspired millions of lives.”

“The response to the teaser and song has boosted our confidence and we are eagerly waiting to present the teaser to you. A grand media meet has been planned in the second week of November before kicking off the promotional tour,” added Nihal.

The Kannada movie will also release in four other languages -- Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam -- and also stars Bharath Bopanna, Anant Nag, Ravi Chandran, Prakash Belawadi, Siri Prahalad, Vinaya Prasad, Archana Kottige and Anish Kuruvilla in pivotal roles. The movie will hit theatres across the country on December 9.