Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Actor Arjun Das, who was recently seen in the Tamil series #Love, opened up about being typecast after Kaithi and revealed that he consciously turned down several negative roles that came his way. The actor said he wanted to avoid being boxed into playing baddies and was keen on exploring different characters.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, the actor spoke about the period after Kaithi and said he was offered several negative roles but deliberately chose to step away from them.
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The actor, who played Anbu in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s film, said it changed the way filmmakers initially perceived him. “Not similar stories, but I think similar characters. After Kaithi came out, there were a lot of negative roles that came my way, and it was a very conscious decision to try and stay away from them, because I think then you get put into a box of sorts. People assume, ‘Oh, he has a voice like that. He has to only do baddie roles,’ which I said no to,” Arjun said.
For the actor, the decision was less about avoiding a particular genre and more about finding characters that kept challenging him. “For me, I want to have fun when I go to a set. When I say fun, it has to excite me to play different characters. Hence, a lot of no’s to negative roles, but nothing in terms of the positive lead roles that have come my way,” he explained.
Arjun added that he does not necessarily believe actors always get to pick exactly what they want to do. Instead, he looks at the stories and characters that come his way.
“I don’t really think we pick what we want to do, but I have not said no to anything that I have liked and said I want. Whatever has come my way, I have liked the story and liked the characters,” he said.
Looking back at some of the negative characters he did take up, Arjun said those opportunities came to him through filmmakers and co-stars rather than him actively seeking such parts. “Even with the negative roles that I have done, the first one, I didn’t pick the role; Lokesh Kanagaraj picked me. Similarly, in the second movie, I was referred to by the lead actor Ajith for Good Bad Ugly,” he said.
The actor, however, appears to have moved away from that phase for now. “And for now, there is nothing negative in the pipeline. It’s all lead positive. Hopefully, if the love is happening in #Love, maybe I can do a few more love stories,” he added.
Arjun also reflected on how his distinct voice contributed to the typecasting he experienced, particularly in the years immediately after Kaithi.
“I think a lot of people feel, ‘This is the voice, then maybe he can only do aggressive roles or angry-young-man roles,’ and all that. But I think now, with the audience seeing different movies and the characters that I am playing, it has become way better,” he said.
He admitted that the initial phase was difficult. “Earlier, it was tough. It was really very tough. After Kaithi came out, I think everyone was only pushing me for negative roles — the voice has to be like this angry guy on screen,” he told us.
The shift also came after audiences got to see a softer side of the actor. Arjun credited director Halitha Shameem for casting him in Loners, part of the anthology Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa, which allowed viewers and filmmakers to see him differently.
“I’m very grateful to a director called Halitha Shameem, who brought me into an anthology that was released during Covid-19 called Loners in Putham Pudhu Kaalai Vidiyaadhaa, where people saw a very vulnerable side of me. Thanks to that, a lot of directors then started coming up with different stories,” he said.
That eventually opened the door to more romantic parts, including Once More and #Love. Arjun also revealed that another love story is lined up for next year.
Arjun is also becoming more conscious of how his voice is used on screen. He revealed that he prefers dubbing later in the day because his naturally deep voice is especially bass-heavy in the mornings.
“ After the first few movies, I started spending time with the directors. We take time to dub because I can’t dub early in the mornings because the bass is out of the box. So, we dub closer to late evenings because the voice is toned down a bit. I’ve spoken throughout the day, and there is a little bit of rest,” he said.
While several of his films have been dubbed into Hindi and Telugu by other artistes, Arjun said he is now trying to take greater ownership of those versions too.
“Now, consciously, I am trying to dub in Hindi as well,” he concluded.
#Love is currently streaming on Netflix. The series also stars Aishwarya Lekshmi in a key role.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
