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From John Kennedy to Vikram:
42 years. |
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| April
17, 2008 |
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Born
on April 17th 1966 at Paramakudi as John
Kennedy, taking his tentative steps into
tinsel world in the early 90s, he knew
deep within that he was destined for big
things. His is not a story of ‘came,
saw and conquered’, not one of fairytale
success, but one of the hard grind with
few opportunities coming his way, of facing
failure with grit,coming back stronger
and hoisting his flag atop the
peak
of success. He is much |
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like the famous spider that inspired King Bruce to his victory.
He symbolizes the importance of patience and perseverance
and that makes this day worthy of celebration. Happy birthday
Vikram.
We
do not know much about how John Kennedy became Vikram but
we sure know how ‘just’ Vikram became Chiyaan
Vikram. No, it is not just Sethu that made him Chiyaan,
the journey to being Chiyaan began long before that when
he used to do small roles, catch the eye for a moment and
vanish again into obscurity. He journeyed across South India
doing whatever roles he could find, especially in Malayalam
where he has done many supporting roles, notably with Mammooty.
Waiting for the right opportunity is not easy, it requires
faith in one’s ability and one’s destiny, Vikram
had them both in adequate measure.
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When
did we first sit up and take notice of Vikram. Hard
to say, it might differ from person to person but we
can roughly reckon it to be sometime near the days of
Ullasam, the blockbuster with Ajith. It took another
two years for Sethu to happen and contrary to what many
of us believe today, that was not his ticket to undisputed
stardom. Yes, Sethu did give him the much needed solo
hit of his career, the prefix Chiyaan, put him on the
map of Kollywood and bring forth his talents but he
had to plough on at least for a year or two more before
his career started cruising. Mind you, he was in his
late thirties by then and the wait had been really long.
It was between Dhil and Saamy that Vikram became the
star that he is today. It would be gross injustice to
credit any one film for his elevation to the top rung.
All of them between 2001 and 2003 played a big part-
Dhil, Gemini, Dhool, Saamy etc. But where Vikram really
showed his quality was in Kasi and later in Pithamagan.
His performances were great, but even more important
were his decisions to do these movies when he was climbing
the ladder of stardom at a furious pace. It showed us
that as an actor and a person, Vikram had not lost perspective
in the face of success. |
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After
2003, things have been smooth for this hard working
committed professional. He found his place in the
hall of stars, settled himself and started working
harder and that’s how Anniyan happened. His
films since have been few and far in between. Majaa
was a pleasant deviation from the serious action oriented
entertainers that he had been doing for quite a time.
Then it took more than a couple of years for Bheema
to grace screens. The reception that the movie received
on its arrival is testimony to the fact that Vikram’s
star status was not built in a day and a mere delay
in a movie will not rob him of any luster. Of course,
the Bheema delay was not something that he wanted
or enjoyed, it was frustrating for him and his fans.
But Vikram has seen tougher days in his career and
knew better than anyone how to get out of it. Result-
we have Kandasaamy on its way and you bet it will
be worth a watch, even more.
It
has been quite an adventurous 42 years and Vikram
has come through with flying colors. We have talked
only about Vikram the actor, but there are many more
facets that the man has but all that for another day.
For now, we only want to wish him the very best and
many more successful years and movies.
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On a finishing note, (maybe we have used this before) there
is a saying, ‘Success is not about being at the right
place at the right time, it is about being at the right
place all the time.’ That’s how Vikram approaches
life and movies. Happy birthday.
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