Actor Venkitesh VP on playing the villain in Vijay Devarakonda-starrer ‘Kingdom’

After participating in Nayika Nayakan, a talent hunt show that aimed to find lead actors for veteran Malayalam director Lal Jose’s film, Venkitesh VP, affectionately known as Venky, had limited acting gigs. While he was offered multiple roles, he decided to wait for projects that excited him. In the meantime, Venky delivered pothichoru (Kerala-style wrapped lunch) with his friend and worked as a light boy for a wedding photographer, earning ₹200 to 300 a day, without his parents knowing.

Things took a turn for the actor when he was called to meet Gowtam Tinnanuri after one of his associates showed him pictures of Venky as a villain in a Tamil movie. Immediately after their first meeting, Gowtam signed him on as Murugan, the psychopathic antagonist in his Kingdom.

The film, starring Vijay Devarakonda, is running successfully in theatres. And Venky? He is on cloud nine after delivering a stellar performance as a bigoted smuggler, forced to live in the shadow of his father.

“On the first day, when we went to watch the movie in a theatre in Hyderabad, the crowd applauded my intro; that was the biggest highlight for me in all this. It felt great to get that response as a newcomer,” says Venky, who made his Telugu debut with Kingdom.

The actor has worked in multiple Malayalam films and one movie in Tamil. His notable works include his roles in The Priest, starring Mammootty, and Kho-Kho, a sports drama starring Rajisha Vijayan.

“A few years ago, I acted in a Telugu movie which was never released, that’s how I learned to speak the language a bit. I don’t know grammar or rules. I memorised the dialogues, which helps with my fluency,” says Venky, who also dubbed for Murugan in Tamil. “When it gets an OTT release and if there is a Malayalam version to it, I want to dub that too.”

Venky showers praise on his crew. “Gowtam sir is a brilliant technician, and very clear on what he wants. He will lead you to what he’s expecting from you as an actor, and keep refining your performance.”

He considers his costars, Vijay and Satyadev, great performers. “Vijay is someone who supports his co-actors. When my character poster was released, he reshared it, praising my performance. He even reshared a reel posted by me with my mother in it. That was a surprise too.”

Actor Satyadev shared his experience of working on Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya, the Telugu remake of Maheshinte Prathikaram, with Venky.

One of Venky’s biggest highlights of working on Kingdom was getting to be part of an Anirudh musical. “Some time ago, my friends invited me to attend a concert by Anirudh. I was unable to go then. I told my friends ‘It’s alright. I will work on a movie with him.’ I didn’t think it would happen so soon,” he says, lauding the musician’s impact in elevating several moments in the movie. “I had a background music specifically for me.”

Origin story

Venky, who hails from West Fort in Thiruvananthapuram, is the only child of the late V Pichumani and Tharakumari S. During his early days, he was not active in extracurricular activities. He fell in love with cinema in college.

“Despite being an only child from a lower-middle-class family, my parents did not stop me when I expressed my desire to act. They said, ‘Finish your post-graduation and do whatever you want.’ For eight years, till I was 28, I earned ₹20,000 a year, acting in small roles or working on a daily wage,” says the 31-year-old actor.

Venky said his parents were always supportive. “They kept telling me, you will find something, even if we have some financial difficulties, we will figure it out. Even when my movies were dropped, they would still tell me not to lose hope.”

“Even when I wasn’t earning, I was treated like a Mammootty or a Rajinikanth at home,” jokes Venky, who was firm on only acting in movies he wanted to.

“I have wished for this moment for a long time. I am receiving a lot of appreciation for my performance, my phone is always ringing, and my mother is delighted,” says Venky, who is looking for his next project.