Celebrity interviews, for most times take place before releases, and within a stipulated time period, when they talk to various medias at a single sitting. Their brains, and so ours, are conditioned to stick to the film. This interview too, took part before the release of Vijay Antony’s Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan, but was different.

The multi-faceted actor (which we will be soon talking about) was kind enough to invite me to the sets of his upcoming film which is being shot somewhere in Chennai. Vijay Antony also looked very surprise when he came to know its my first time being on sets, as we chat inside his vanity van. “Interviews usually take place in studios that rarely do journalists make set visits now,” I said, as the conversation snowballed into Vijay Antony spending about 20 minutes getting to know me. It was different.. primarily because rarely do celebrities take that time to know about the journalist beyond their name and publication they represent.

“Do you as a person have an interest to know people, despite I perceive you to be an introvert?” I ask.

“I come across as an introvert? What does it mean?” Vijay Antony asks me back as I quote some examples of being one.

“I think yes. I don’t enjoy fakeness that comes with a gathering with no use. Instead, I prefer this one-on-one moment. We don’t know when we will talk again, but moment is important than partying somewhere where we can’t even hear one another. I don’t see a point in socialising in groups without meaning,” Vijay Antony says.

Is that also a reason why took enough time to know me? “This is who I am. This is what I put into my work like music, and direction. This personality is like Ajinomoto. It may not have taste of its own, but it develops when I put that into my works, and business decisions. There is a sincere attempt to make conversations.”

Vijay Antony Interview

For anyone familiar with Vijay Antony’s offscreen personality, they would know the optimistic man that he is. “Just as we expect so many things out of life, there is stress too that comes along. Life is zero. Yes, initially, I wanted to make music, earn. But now, as I age, I see life is nothing. I don’t know if I can say this optimistic or pessimistic. I think you should be optimistic only where negativity resides,” Vijay Antony says, adding how he is focussed on creating moments where the people he is interacting with also feel comfortable.

Vijay Antony uses the word “empathy”, a quality anyone can possess that automatically makes them powerful. “I come from zero, and my only ambition was to earn. How to earn? I thought of making music. It was an odd choice because, back home in Tirunelveli, there were many dancers and singers, but there were no composers. Whether I know or not, I thought I was a composer,” he says.

Does he recall the first time he identified himself being one? He answers, “I was around 18-19. I sang during college days, composed my own tunes. I give 100% to whatever I want to do. I did go to music teachers, but grew impatient to start from the scratch. But that is now how you start. You need to learn the basics. I made a mistake and you need patience to learn.”

The composer is frank when he says the early searching in life for him was earn livelihood. So, what it is for him now? “Zero. There is nothing. But whatever I do now is the responsibilities I carry as a husband, father, and their needs. Left alone, I would take up monkhood. Now, I see each project as work.. there is nothing that excites me, probably momentarily needs only.” It prompts me to ask, but hasn’t there been a want even for simple decisions, like what to eat for dinner? “If I am hungry, food excites me. I may want to eat rasam rice than biryani, if tired sleep excites me.”

On Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan, fame and life

Has Vijay Antony ever wondered about the other side of fame? “I think I do everything in my capacity to do the every day work. I believe there is nothing that I can’t do. It is a profession that everyone likes and adores. I have watched other films in theatres with people too, but of course off guard.” He feels that hero worshipping has been a lot lately, and feels it would be better if toned down.

Speaking about Mazhai Pidikatha Manithan, Vijay Antony says, “All films move towards one thing. When I listened to the script, it was different in terms of action. There was a feeling that the team and story would come together to make a good film.” Asked if headlining a film is a responsibility, “I don’t think it that way at all. For me, it’s one film after the other. If you analyse so much, only strain is left,” he says.

The art of juggling

Vijay Antony, who has proved his mettle in editing, acting, directing and producing, besides composing, sometimes all these together in few projects, says there is no other go sometimes other than being multi-faceted. Doesn’t that incur stress? “There is no other go. Let’s say a tiger has come into the house, running is a stress. But can you ask the neighbour to run? I had needs, say I need a director and I took up direction. Editing needs full focus, and many editors already have a lot of projects on hand. Had there been a person who would do these things best, I would hand over. I don’t have passion as such. If I see you doing better than me, I hand over,” he says.

But has it ever occurred to him that he may miss out on collaborative process? “I think it’s like any other chore. You can cook the whole dish by yourself, or seek the help of others. In fact, I am very good at collaboration which is why I was able to make music without knowing it,” Vijay Antony says.

Asked if the perception he sees a particular piece of cinema differs as he dons roles of different technicians, Vijay Antony nonchalantly says, “Cinema is not as hard as you think, it is all about how to learn and put the skills to use. The perspective on cinema is just larger. If given a chance, I don’t like to work. I may just sit and observe people. Why should we work? Livelihood and what gives more livelihood than cinema?”

How much does he see music changing? To this Vijay Antony says, “What we compose is what you listen. After Ilaiyaraaja sir, Rahman began composing, they have changed the taste of what people like to hear. The audience never asks what they need to hear.” At the same time, he also says his priority is acting, with editing and music coming second.