Express News Service
There was a time when aspiring actors crowded production houses distributing their portfolios. This practice is slowly changing with filmmakers bringing in talent from a variety of backgrounds, including radio jockeying and stand-up comedy. The latest pool of talent seems to be the Tamil YouTube space.Vijay Varadharaj, content creator and co-founder of one of the oldest Tamil YouTube channels, Temple Monkeys, has featured in films such as Enakku Innoru Per Irukku and Irumbu Thirai.
He is also awaiting the release of his directorial debut, Pallu Padama Pathuko. “The industry is warming up to the reach of YouTubers and what they bring to the table. These days, even if the trailer of a big star gets released, comments about the YouTuber in the film get more likes,” he says. Shah Ra, the other founding member of Temple Monkeys, who has been part of films such as Maanagaram, Meesaya Murukku, Natpe Thunai and Iruttu Araiyil Murattu Kuthu, says their only aim was to get noticed by the public.
during a film shoot
The other team members of Temple Monkeys has also made their way into films such as Abdool was seen in Mersal and Irumbu Thirai, Augustine Prasad in Vikram Vedha and Auto Shankar, and Rishikanth Rajendran in Irumbu Thirai and K-13. Another member R Badree even landed a role in Ranveer Singh-starrer 83, where he plays cricketer Sunil Valson.
Raj Mohan of Put Chutney, recently seen in Natpe Thunai and Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum, feels it’s not easy to be part of a feature film. “Even actors such as Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff had to learn martial arts and dance, and have a chiselled body to make their mark. But for YouTube, good looks is not a criterion; only talent makes you famous. When Tamil cinema was still catering to the horror comedy fad, YouTube gave the audience different content made by talented groups. So it’s only natural that when a vacuum came about in the film industry, they turned to YouTube for sourcing talent.”
Harija, who is known for her videos on the Eruma Saani channel, appeared in consecutive releases recently —100 and Mr Local. “People have long considered films to be the only platform for a person to showcase their acting talent. But YouTube has taken the world by storm. It provides the audience with good content right on their phones. Tamil industry too finds it easy to scout for talent from it.”
Arguably one of the busiest actors to have made their way from YouTube is RJ Vigneshkanth. He has had three releases—Dev, Natpe Thunai and Mehandi Circus—this year. “The internet has become a perfect platform for talent sourcing. Many are making viral content every day, and given this, I’d say the conversion rate is actually low. If I had to put a number, I would say only 10 per cent are making their way to films. This, I feel, is because not many understand that different dynamics are required to sustain in the film industry. Getting a chance is hard, but sustaining is even harder.”
Karthik Venugopal, known for starring and directing videos on the Black Sheep channel, is now directing a film titled Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja, which is produced by Sivakarthikeyan. “Assisting directors is often considered the best method to learn the craft. But we learn about 70 per cent of it from doing YouTube videos. Moreover, when a video gets published, it garners a lot of comments, and from that, we get to know what works and what doesn’t.
A 10-minute video, right from editing to problem-solving at the sets, and even figuring out where the video lags, teaches us a lot. My three years of experience doing that came in handy when scripting a feature film.”“Another advantage of roping in YouTubers is that they already have a fan base and face recognition. Not to mention that their posts on social media are viewed by many—so that’s good promotion for the film as well,” says Vijay.
Weighing in with his views on this trend Vigneshkanth says, “This comes with its own set of positives and negatives. The good part is the makers get to choose from a wider pool of talent. On the flip side, we have people judging us for not taking the conventional route to acting.”
Source: The New Indian Express