Arvind Swamy: Will take up direction next year

Handsome actor Arvind Swamy has now become rage in his new avatar. He was heartthrob of women in 90's. Now he is playing baddie. His performance as evil scientist in 'Dhruva' is being raved by everyone. In this interview, the charming antagonist of Ram Charan's 'Dhruva' talks about the accident which left him paralyzed, what he did then, whether he will do straight Telugu movies  so on and so forth.  

No sole focus on acting: 

I was 20-something when I was offered a role in 'Thalapathy'. Even then, I didn't want to do acting alone. After 'Roja', I continued to do acting. I never had any expectations to enjoy the stardom (that might follow). After I stopped accepting movies, I did a guest role in 'Sakhi' ('Alaipayuthey'). All through those years, I was focusing on my business, and also spending happy time with my family.  

The businessman Arvind:

We have been into financial back end services, developing workflow applications, etc. I have sold off my stakes in some of the offshore sites of my company. Our company in India is into payroll processing. It's a company with about 5,000 employees. I am happy to be providing them employment.

A villain with a difference:

When director Mohan Raja (of the Tamil version 'Thani Oruvan') approached me with the role, he only had a concept in mind. It took two months to develop other things. All throughout, I liked the possessive trait of Siddhartha Abhimanyu. I liked the fact that the film doesn't show any reason as to why he became such a bad guy. There are people who felt bad because he is shot in the climax. After the movie released, I was more interested to know if someone found something illogical in the movie rather than how they felt received me.  

The acting style:

I love the process of filmmaking a lot. Acting is a part of the larger process. Cinema is a visual medium. At times when I was given five lines, I would try to avoid speaking all the lines because what the written word says can be conveyed through an expression.  I worked toward that.

No to straight Telugu movies:

I have a difficulty learning a new language. That's why I am not looking forward to doing straight Telugu movies. As for 'Dhruva', my character doesn't have too many lines. Moreover, I had already portrayed the same character in Tamil.  

That paralyzing accident:

When I met with an accident in 2006 and had a spinal injury, I was paralyzed. I couldn't even walk for one year. During that period, I was more into playing chess, solving maths puzzles, etc so as to keep my mind healthy.

Acting as well as direction:

I am getting to do interesting roles now. I am going to direct a movie next year. There are two stories and it's not yet decided as to which one will be made. Not that I am going to stop acting, but when I am directing, I will be doing only that and won't be acting in my film.