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 He has over a 1,000 friend requests, 12,000 scraps and about four communities dedicated to him in Orkut. His popularity seems to be increasing everyday. Wondering who this is? Does the name ‘Vineeth’ ring a bell? If you are a regular viewer of Vijay TV’s hugely popular soap ‘Kana Kaanum Kaalangal’, it should.
Vineeth a.k.a Mohammed Ismail Irfan is one of the protagonists of this show. With a major fan following (most of them being girls), Irfan dreams of making it big in the field of acting and direction. I caught up with this six-footer to find out more about his background, the show and the reason for its success.
To start with, I’d like to know how you got this role.
 Well, after my graduation, I was doing my internship in Vijay TV and was part of the ‘Kana Kaanum…’ team. I was involved in doing surveys in various schools. I visited different schools and collected information about the way students spoke and a lot of other minor things. Then, my programme producer, Mr Ramanan, suggested my name to our director. I underwent a small screen test and finally got selected for the role.
Did you actually have any ideas of acting? Or was it just plain coincidence?
I am actually interested in acting. I’ve always wanted to enter movies. When I was offered the role of Vineeth, I was a little apprehensive and unsure if I really wanted to do it. That’s because once you start doing a TV show, you’ll be benchmarked (or labelled?) as a TV actor and then it becomes difficult to enter movies. But right now I’m pretty happy that the show is doing really well.
Tell me a little about your academic background.
I did my schooling in Asan Memorial and then my graduation in Viscom from Loyola. I’ve also directed two short films called ‘Final Reset’ and ‘You deserve’ when in college.
Have you done any other role before you got KKK? Have you been involved in
modelling?
Yeah. Actually, I did modelling for about three years in college. I’ve also done short roles in movies like ‘Mercury Pookal’ and ‘ECR’ (Kizhakku Kadarkarai Salai). But it is KKK that has been the defining factor in my career so far.
‘Kana Kaanum Kaalangal’ is a show that has become quite popular soon. Did you expect such popularity when you started working in it?
 When we started shooting for the show, we were quite sure that this would move the television industry. Besides, our main target was the youth. And seeing the show do so well makes everyone excited. This actually acts as the tonic for us to work harder and outshine our earlier efforts every time we are on screen. I also participated in the three-day workshop that they conducted for us to improve our acting skills before starting the shoot.
How was it like signing your first autograph? Does it happen quite often these days?
Well, yes. It just feels great when people recognise you when you are walking on the streets. People walk up to me and call me, “Hey, Vineeth”, and ask me for an autograph. I feel ecstatic, because a budding actor asks nothing more than recognition and support from the audience. Being called by your screen name makes it even more wonderful!
Something that people love in this show are the dialogues. They are extremely casual and take one back to the schooldays.
That was actually part of the survey. Our scriptwriter-cum-dialogue writer, Mr Brahma, deserves all the credit for penning such imaginative and down-to-earth dialogues. He was also the scriptwriter of the show ‘Idhu Oru Kadhal Kadhai’, aired earlier on Star Vijay.
Apart from your own character, which other character catches your imagination?
I really like Pachai’s character because of its subtlety. The slum background and crush that he has on Raghavi are very realistic. I initially wanted to do that character, but I didn’t fit that role.
You people share a wonderful rapport on screen. Are you all in the same age group?
Most of us are around 20 to 25. I’m pretty close to Krish, Pachai and Pandi. We all have a great time on the sets. The atmosphere is really cool. I know everyone from the light man to the person who serves me food. So, it becomes really easy to go out there and act.
How much does the director influence your acting? Does he give you tips on how to give the right reactions and expressions?
Yes, very much. Our director (Mr Prabhu Kanna) is actually a national award winner for a short film called ‘Paramapadham’. He basically tells us what to do. For instance, Pandi’s character wouldn’t have been so funny if he had done it normally. Our director acts out the whole sequence. He exactly brings out the talent within us.
The transformation from the boy next door to a TV actor, a famous one for that matter. How have your friends and relatives reacted to your sudden popularity?
 My friends have been totally cool. They are extremely happy for me and the show’s success. Sometimes it’s weird because I just can’t be my usual self. But I always stay in touch with friends whenever I get time.
The show has been getting good response in Kerala and Pondicherry also and you’ve already crossed the 100th episode. The 100th episode was very different with the whole ‘gurukulam’ idea. How was it like shooting for it?
I think it was the most difficult episode to shoot. We were taken somewhere outside Chennai and it was extremely hot. The costumes that we were given also didn’t help us. We had to shoot in that scorching heat. A lot of effort went into it; I just hope that people enjoyed that episode.
Hmm...What has been your favourite episode so far? Any particular scene that you have enjoyed the most?
My favourite scene is one in which the two gangs fight and Raghavi comes to my rescue. Apart from that, there was a scene in one of the earlier episodes when Pachai and I fight. It came out really well because we actually fought for real and Pachai hit me so badly that I started bleeding. We were so happy that the sequence came out well. Later we realised that there was some technical problem because of which the scene hadn’t got recorded at all! (chuckles).
Drifting a little from the show, tell me something about your favourite actors, movies and about your interests.
I’m a diehard fan of Shahrukh. I also like Madhavan. Among the heroines, I like Genelia. Movies, I like ‘The Sixth Sense’, ‘The Pianist’ etc. I’m actually a basketball player; I also love go-karting and swimming.
One final question. If it wasn’t for KKK, which field would you have opted for?
I guess I would have become an assistant director because it’s one of the most difficult and challenging jobs in the industry. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my family, Mr Ramanan, my director, Mr Prabhu Kanna, cameraman Martin Joe and the whole of the KKK team.
While bidding goodbye to this very charming and amiable person, I realise that I’m the lucky one to take Irfan’s first interview. Who knows, in a few years to come, Mohammed Ismail Irfan might just turn out to be a leading name in the field of cinema!
Sandhya Santhanaraman
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