Rakshan is clear that he will not quit television

You are bound to giggle every few minutes when you speak to VJ Rakshan of

Kalakka Povathu Yaaru

fame. The

Vijay TV

anchor has come a long way since his anchoring days; he’s finally realising his dream of becoming an actor with Kannum Kannum Kollai Adithal, which stars

Dulquer

Salmaan and Ritu Varma in the lead. Rakshan, who plays the second lead in the film, says that he has found a role that he could connect to.

“I play Dulquer’s friend and my portions will come throughout the film. It is an interesting role,” begins Rakshan, adding, “When I got this offer, I was a little sceptical because Dulquer is a big star. We have to play close buddies and I wondered how I would break the ice. But he made me feel comfortable on the set from day one. Eventually, we started calling each other mama and machan. In fact, our chemistry has worked out really well (laughs).”

Ask him about working with Ritu Varma, and he is all smiles. “I am not fluent in English or Hindi, but she would speak only in those two languages. So, I used to chumma pull her leg on the set by calling her Rituji. She’s very down-to-earth and performs really well,” he says.

Talk about his journey on the small screen and a nostalgic Rakshan reminisces, “I was trying to get into the acting scene from 2007. But then, I met the wrong people, who signed me for a film and took money from me. The film never took off. But it was a learning experience for me and I learnt it the hard way. I’ve worked at a medical shop and a call center, tried my hand at sari business and even ventured into pet business. One fine day, I decided to try out my luck in television and soon, got the chance to host a live show for a music channel. Later, I moved to another channel and did celebrity interviews. Eventually, I found my dream job in Vijay TV. I started off as an assistant director in Adhu Idhu Edhu. I was among one of the boys in the ‘Siricha Pochu’ round.”

He adds, “Then, I gave my audition to host Kalakka Povathu Yaaru and was selected.” Rakshan says that he wanted to develop his own style of anchoring when it came to this show. “Sivakarthikeyan anna had a unique style, where he would pull a joke on the judges. Gopinath sir is quite intellectual and

Jagan anna

’s comedy timing has worked well. I wanted to develop something for myself and decided to be an anchor, who is also a performer in the show. This worked very well and I began getting movie offers,” says Rakshan. On his movie opportunities, Rakshan guffaws, “Someone wanted me to play a police officer’s role in a movie. I was shocked...ennalaye namba muddila. You should do comedy, but you shouldn’t become a comedy piece. When Kannum... came by, I felt this was apt for my age. I want to do boy-next-door roles, something like Thegidi and Pizza.”

And the transition from TV to movies has only been easy for him. He says, “In Kalakka Povathu Yaaru, I used to prepare myself for a 30-page script, where I will have to do 10-12 acts a day. This also required me to improvise on the set. But my movie journey has been comfortable so far.
Of course, there’s a long way to go.”

But Rakshan is clear that he will not quit television. “I will continue to host as that gave me recognition,” he signs off.