Nobody gets taught in College. You have to learn on your own.

Very often it is not the hero but the character actor in a movie who walks away with all the accolades. This is all the more true when we talk about Kollywood films. Heroes in our films are always super heroes swinging from the rafters, kicking the villains in their nuts spewing fiery one-liners and romancing the heroine all at the same time. So when a villain turns up on screen who can take a kick in the nuts with a wry grin we can’t but stand up and applaud. John Vijay got into the entertainment business by accident. He signed up for a Bachelor of Arts from MCC a well-known college from Chennai but was chucked out for his shenanigans. So to pass time he signed up for a course in Visual communications in another college.

By his own admission he was taught nothing in class but learnt enough by simply hanging around in the car park under the trees in the campus of Loyola College. Somewhere along the way he was spotted by his fellow course mates as a likely candidate for a film they were making. The film was ‘Oram Po’ and he played the part of a garage owner involved in auto rickshaw racing. His portrayal won him a large following. He was merely being himself but he must have been lucky for that was exactly what was required of him.

More cine roles followed, as did assignments on TV. In this interview he gives his take on life, relationships and his simple yet profound views on charity. As usual John is a riot. Though he has now been accused of being stereotyped in his portrayal, no one can deny that his zany one liners delivered in his crazed style has the audience whooping with delight. 

I first came across John when he dropped into my office one evening. He was a friend of Mathew M.C. another unique character who was sharing my office. The two of them were always up to something and most evenings would see a motley crowd of musicians, models, students and out of work artists drinking beer and wolfing down large quantities of hotdogs dripping with mayo and relish. John would turn up wearing a clean and starched dhoti and kurta topped with a brocade turban wrapped around his head. He was in the process of setting up a marketing company and his trademark wasa bottle of mineral water which he would give away to all and sundry.

Even then I had predicted that he would find a place in Kollywood and that he did eventually.