Para swimmer Vishwas KS gets a biopic

Para swimmer Vishwas KS, who has won 17 medals at various national and international events, is making his debut in Sandalwood with his biopic Arbbie, which highlights the travails he faced along the way in his journey as a swimmer with no arms. The movie, directed by Rajkumar, has Chaitra Rao as the female lead and will go on floors by the end of the month. Vishwas tell us, “Over the years, bits and pieces of my story have been told on mainstream media. But there is so much more to it and I was looking for a platform. A film, I thought, would be just right to narrate my story. Getting someone else to play me was not an option, considering that it would have been tough to find a person with the same physical disabilty that I have. So, once it was decided to make my story into a film, the team thought that I would be the right person to portray myself onscreen. The message I want to share with this film is that people with special needs require support, not empathy. The film will, of course, take a few cinematic liberties, like, for instance, the inclusion of Chaitra’s character as someone who supports me in difficult times.” As part of his preparation, Vishwas is currently taking up acting classes, “I am a fairly good dancer, so I do know to express emotions, but I am looking at fine tuning my acting prowess before we go on floors,” he adds.K ANNAMALAI TURNS COACH Former top cop K Annamalai will play Vishwas’ coach in Arbbie. “I was impressed with Vishwas’ achievements despite his disability. He made the country proud by winning several medals at international events. I thought that my presence would convey a message to society, as there are people who complain about life even when they have seemingly nothing to complain about,” says Annamalai.