Chiyaan Vikram recalls how his ‘goof up’ cost him Arvind Swamy’s role in Mani Ratnam’s cult film Bombay: ‘I would wake up and cry’

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As an ardent fan, I can’t help but admire the rollercoaster journey of Chiyaan Vikram in the Tamil film industry. His recent success with Thangalaan is a testament to his resilience and talent. But what truly captivates me is the story behind his loss of the role in Mani Ratnam’s iconic film, Bombay.

Currently, Vikram is basking in the success of his latest film, Thangalaan, which has been widely acclaimed. Throughout his career, he’s consistently amazed audiences with his versatility. Interestingly, the star recently disclosed a lesser-known fact about his professional journey – how he missed out on playing Arvind Swamy’s role in Mani Ratnam’s iconic film, Bombay, due to a mistake he made earlier.

During an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Chiyaan Vikram explained that contrary to rumors suggesting he turned down a project like Bombay, it was actually his performance during the final rounds of auditions that fell short. The star of Thangalaan recalled feeling nervous and struggling to deliver when Mani Ratnam asked him to act out a specific type of scene in front of the camera.

He explained that he didn’t reject Bombay, instead, he messed up the audition. The unexpected request for an in-person audition and lack of a video camera threw him off. When told to “act,” he was puzzled because he saw another girl running and felt he would freeze. However, when the director encouraged him to continue, he became confused since it wasn’t a video camera but a still one. At that moment, he realized that moving would create a blurry image on the still camera.

Later on, Chiyaan Vikram shared his experiences of missing out on the chance to collaborate with Mani Ratnam. He confided that for an uninterrupted period of two months, tears would flow upon waking each morning.

“Chiyaan Vikram recounted, ‘Day after day for two months, I wept, ‘I’ve lost it.’ Two months of tears from a mature man. Eventually, that movie gained widespread acclaim across India and became a cult classic.'”

Additionally, he disclosed that he had already decided to retire following his work on this exceptional movie, but unfortunately, his botched audition disrupted those plans.

At the end of the interview, Chiyaan Vikram gratefully acknowledged that he had been given another opportunity to collaborate with Mani Ratnam, a chance which came with the critically acclaimed films Ponniyin Selvan I and II.

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2024-09-02 09:08