Vijay dons three roles for ‘Theri’

If watching one Vijay is enough to give fans a high, how are they going to deal with three Vijays?

Tamil film Theri, releasing on April 14, has the star playing three roles.

Atlee, who made his debut with the commercial hit Raja Rani, a romantic drama, is back with this police tale after two and a half years.

Theri is a mass entertainer but woven into it is a social issue relevant to our times, says Atlee, who trained under noted director Shankar.

“This is a realistic story of a cop and his challenges. Vijay plays three characters.

“Theri talks about several things affecting us as a society, including child trafficking and the safety of women, but I have conveyed it through an entertainer,” adds Atlee.

One role that Vijay plays is that of Joseph Kuruvila, a Malayali single parent with a little girl. Actress Meena’s daughter Nainika makes her debut as Kuruvila’s daughter.

The second character is the policeman; as for Vijay’s third role, Dharmeshwar, Atlee says he cannot reveal anything.

Veteran director J. Mahendran (Mullum Mallaram and Nenjithey Killathe) is the new villain of Tamil cinema.

Atlee says working with the director was a memorable experience.

“The first time I explained his scene to him, he listened intently and then asked me to demonstrate the role for him,” recalls Atlee.

“I was humbled when he said, ‘Let me try, Coach.’

Mahendran appreciated Atlee’s dialogues for their brevity and has asked Atlee to write the dialogues for his next film.

“I owe it to director Shankar, who is concise with his lines. Besides, during the making of Nanben (the Tamil remake of 3 Idiots),’ I had the opportunity of working with Bollywood director Raju Hirani, who again writes crisp lines.”

Directing four-and-a-half-year old Nainika was another new experience for the young director.

“Her role is on par with Vijay and she is there in most of the scenes,” he says.

“I became a child with her, playing with her when she was not in a mood to act.”

Samantha plays Dr Mitra and Amy Jackson is an Anglo-Indian teacher.

Jackson chips in, “My look is not glamorous at all. I sport a tomboy cut and wear glasses, but it called for emotions to portray.

Atlee says the laugh-aloud moments come in scenes shared by Radhika Sarath Kumar (she plays policeman Vijay’s mother) and Vijay; and in Motta Rajendran’s scenes.

With interesting action scenes that were performed by Vijay himself without a stunt double and dance moves that will not disappoint fans, Theri is awaited with great expectations.

Theri will dominate screens not only in Tamil Nadu but also in Kerala when it releases on Tamil New Year’s Day. Surprisingly, in Kerala there is no big release on the occasion of Vishu this year.