Ravindra Vijay: Theatre gave me an alternate worldview

New Indian Express

26-07-2025

Are theatre and film roles different?
In many ways, yes, they are different, but there are also similarities. In theatre, you spend weeks rehearsing with the same group of people. Day in and day out, you're working together — laughing, crying, cooking, eating, even getting drunk together — and really bonding in a way that's unique. You live through the process as a team. In contrast, cinema is much more structured. A lot of it depends on the budget and the pay scale. In theatre, the money we make is shared equally, no matter how big or small our roles are. But in film, the hierarchy is more pronounced.
Theatre is also more experimental. You might explore new things during rehearsals, and sometimes, both the director and the actors get bored and start reworking scenes. It's a dynamic process. In theatre, you have a clear narrative that takes you from point A to Z within the duration of the performance. In cinema, though, time is much more fragmented. Every minute counts. You might shoot scenes out of order, sometimes jumping from the last scene to the middle, and then pick it up again months later. It's like piecing together a giant crossword puzzle, and maintaining that continuity, both physically and emotionally, is essential. Though there are a lot of people on set to help, cinema is still a director-driven medium, while theatre is more of an actor's medium, where the performance feels more direct and organic.
How are the Kollywood and Tollywood industries different?
At the core, both are businesses, and like any business, they are hierarchical and structured. The key difference lies in the approach to storytelling and the types of stories being told. Tollywood tends to focus more on mass appeal films, often with larger-than-life characters and high-energy narratives. Tamil cinema, on the other hand, seems to lean more towards literary and source-based stories, with a bit more variety in the kind of films being made. Telugu cinema is slowly opening up to more independent films, and while it's supportive, the Telugu audience, in general, is more invested in the mainstream cinematic experience compared to other audiences. Tamil cinema has been a bit more experimental in this regard, but both industries have their unique strengths.