Vijay plays teen, 70-year-old in ‘Malgudi Days’

For Vijay Raghavendra, trying different scripts and roles comes naturally to him. Now shooting for the film ‘Malgudi Days’, the actor will be portraying two different characters — of a 70-year-old and of a teenager.

The shoot for the film started in March and the actor is about to complete shooting for the elderly character.

Vijay has been slowly enjoying the challenges that came with portraying the role.

“I’m at the makeup table for about four hours. If we have to start shooting at 7.30 am, then we start the makeup process by 4 am at least. Roshan, the makeup artist entertains me with old Hindi songs, while he patiently works on my face. I just shut my eyes and relax during this time,” he says.

His fans vouch that he goes to extreme lengths to work on a film and is a patient person.

“I am trying to prove the same. I’m 40 years old and am playing two extreme characters in the film. I am working towards losing around 20 kg for the teenage character,” he says.

The actor who loves chocolates is working out and is on a strict diet.

He adds, “The film is about the journey of a person who revisits his memories. People say memories are good if one thinks about them, but not when one delves or wants to live in them. ‘Malgudi Days’ is nothing like I have worked on before.”

The film shares its title with Shankar Nag’s popular teleserial of the same name. The actor clarifies that the film has nothing to do with the show. “Malgudi was a fictitious place with characters who connected to the audience. This film is a dedication to that, but why we used the same title will be revealed later,” says Vijay.

The film is being shot in and around Thirthahalli, Agumbe, Kalasa and Hornadu. Some scenes have also been shot in Mysuru and Bengaluru.