At the India Today Conclave South 2018, actor Arvind Swami opened up about stardom, why he left the industry and his subsequent return to the industry.
Arvind Swami shot to fame with films like Roja and Bombay. After attaining stardom, the actor preferred to stay away from the limelight for a couple of years. Talking about stardom, Arvind said, “I accidentally became an actor and continued to do so because I like it. When I was in college, I took up modeling that gave me hefty commissions. So I started doing commercials and then Mani Ratnam saw me and called me for an audition for Thalapathi. So, I’ve been lucky.”
The actor explained why he left the industry, “None of this [stardom] was planned for me. While I enjoyed acting, I was not prepared for stardom. It was not something I enjoyed. I wanted to do other things and that’s why I took a break. Stardom stifled me. The attention and the lack of privacy were things I couldn’t cope with. This was all new to me and I hadn’t anticipated this and it was uncomfortable. After Roja, I went to the US to do my Masters. I wanted to do that.
And then we started a business. It blew into something that spread across countries. I left it in 2005. I had to single-parent my kids and so I had to take my time off. I also met with an accident. I had no ambition to come back for films.”
The actor also talked about his return, “Mani Ratnam called me back for Kadal. Because Kadal wasn’t received well, I wanted to make an impact. if Kadal hadn’t done well, I would’ve have come back. I didn’t want to sign off on a low. I know I have the capability to sign off on a low.”
Mrigaya Dham
