Chandran

Chandran (born 5 September) is an Indian film actor working in the Tamil film industry (or popularly known as Kollywood). After featuring in short films and music videos, Chandran made his feature film debut with Prabhu Solomon's romantic film Kayal (2014).

Early life

Chandran pursued his education at the Sir Sivaswami Kalalaya school in Chennai and then later at the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, often featuring in school stage plays, which helped him gain a passion for acting. A performance as Adolf Hitler at a play won him plaudits at school and after further performances in short films, Chandran subsequently became interested in becoming an actor in Tamil feature films.^[1] He later moved to New Delhi to do a postgraduate degree at the National Institute of Advertising, as his father was insistent that he had a fall back plan in case a career in the film industry did not materialise. After graduation, Chandran moved on to work in the sales team at the radio station Suryan FM 93.5 and then moved on to become a branding consultant with the film franchise, Sathyam Cinemas.^[2] During his stint at Sathyam Cinemas, he revealed that he would dress up in formal attire and attend film functions, in a hope that directors would potentially be impressed and cast him in their films.^[1]

Career

Hoping to get a breakthrough in films, Chandran quit his consulting job and began extensively auditioning for roles and signed up with the theatre group, Inferno Productions, becoming a regular in their productions. After hearing that Prabhu Solomon was casting for a new film from a co-actor, Chandran sent his portfolio and received an offer to play the lead role in Kayal (2014) the following day, much to his surprise. Prior to the beginning the first schedule, the director asked Chandran to lose fifteen kilograms for the role and undertake a training workshop under stunt choreographer Pandian.^[2] A love story set in the backdrop of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Kayal featured Chandran portraying a nomad who travels across India as a passion, before falling in love with the titular character, portrayed by Anandhi. For the shoot, the team shot extensively in muddy waters resembling the conditions post-tsunami, and Chandran suffered from mild fungal infections from the experience. He also noted the difficulty in concentrating on acting and emoting, despite the force of the water exerted by the water jets, and revealed that he had to maintain a red eyed look for significant portions of the film.^[3] The film opened in December 2014, ten years after the anniversary of the disaster, to positive reviews and Chandran won critical acclaim for his portrayal of Aaron. Behindwoods.com wrote the "new find is powerful and glides through heavy duty emotional scenes with ease", adding that "his ruggedness and nonchalance are enjoyable to watch out for".^[4] Similarly Sify.com's reviewer noted he gives a "truly excellent performance", while Rediff.com remarked he and Anandhi were the "perfect choice" for the film.^[5][6]

Filmography

References