Vidya Pradeep’s film has a Kamal Haasan connect

A well-known publicist in Kollywood,

Nikil Murukan

is now turning actor with the thriller Powder, which stars Vidya Pradeep in the lead.

“I’ve been casting people who have been on the sidelines of cinema for some time. That’s how I cast actors like Charuhasan and Janagaraj in my previous films. Nikil has been working as a PR for 25 years and is well-known in industry circles, though the public isn’t aware of him. So, I decided to cast him in this one,” says the film’s director Vijay Sri G.

Nikil will be playing a cop in the film, and the director says that it will be a role tinged with black humour. “It is a full-length role and he plays a cop named Raghavan. Of course, he is named so as the character will register faster because it is Kamal sir’s character in Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu,” says Vijay.

The only thing he asked of his newbie actor was to tone his body for this role. “Since he has been on film sets, he did not have trouble performing. But I asked him to hit the gym and get fitter as I didn’t want a cop with a paunch. He hit the gym and came back fit following the lockdown,” he says.

The director reveals that he was able to complete his portions as film events have been less than usual during the pandemic. “Only a few scenes of him with Vidya Pradeep are left,” he adds.