Remember Hrishikesh, who played Dhanush’s younger brother in Velaiyilla Pattathari (2014)? The tall-handsome guy has turned hero with heist horror thriller Rum. He shares with City Express that post VIP, he got many similar offers hence, he didn’t take them up. “I was craving for a perfect launchpad and that’s when I came across Rum. Since I am debuting as the lead, I thought I should start with a ‘small film’. I didn’t want to take risks. I felt the project was ‘safe’ for the team.”
Contrary to popular belief, the word ‘rum’ doesn’t refer to liquor. In ancient Tamil, ‘rum’ means ‘theerpu’ (verdict). “Vivekh, Amzath Khan, Arjun Chidambaram, Sanchita and I are a part of group that robs. On one such assignment, we get stuck in a house. Our experiences form the rest of the story,” he says.
Sharing his experience of acting with Vivekh, he adds, “He’s a bundle of energy and gets along with everyone easily. When he’s around us, he behaves like a young chap.”
The film is special to him because of another reason — his cousin Anirudh Ravichander. “He has composed music for Rum and hasn’t worked on this genre previously. When I narrated the story to him, he was happy to come on board,” he smiles.
The boys are more than just cousins. “Being of the same age, we are best friends,”says Hrishikesh. Teaming up with Anirudh was a great experience for him. “I know the way he works, and he knows what I want. Every time I asked him something, he gave us more than what we needed in terms of output. He loves exploring new genres and wishes to serve the scene and not the hit charts,”he shares.
Hrishikesh’s great-grandfather is K Subramanyam and his grandfather is SV Ramanan, who made a lot of films. “Though I come from a film family, I never sought anybody’s help to get into the industry. My grandfather is my inspiration as he was the first one to make me act,” he says.
He adds that he has finished shooting for Rum and Velaiyilla Pattathari-2. “Many people asked me why I am doing
VIP-2 at this point of my career. I told them that it was Dhanush who gave me a ‘much-needed break’. It was a nice re-union. VIP is where I started. I had a wonderful time being on the sets with Samuthirakani and others,” he says. Hrishikesh does not want to accepted any new projects till Rum releases.
He has always wanted to be an actor and over the years he has done short films, commercials and documentaries. Ask him what kind of roles interest him and he says, “At present, I enjoy doing character roles. It felt nice when a lady told me ‘I am similar to her son’ after watching VIP. I want to do roles that can connect with the audience.”
Source: The New Indian Express