‘Only goal was to come out of poverty’: Vijay Sethupathi says he misses his past life as ‘innocent’ young man

‘Only goal was to come out of poverty’: Vijay Sethupathi says he misses his past life as ‘innocent’ young man

Vijay Sethupathi, who is often regarded as one of the best actors in the country, recently revealed that he misses his past self. The actor, whose film Maharaja hit the big screens on June 14, looked back at the more innocent times in his life. Sethupathi rose to fame a little over a decade ago, after working as a background and supporting actor for over half a decade. Before that, he was working as an accountant in Dubai.

In a recent interview with Chai Bisket Shorts, the actor was asked who he misses the most in his life, and he said, "I miss myself. There was a guy who was very innocent and didn't have any dreams. He had no clue about what he was going to do in his life. When he was studying the first year in college, he didn't know what was the syllabus of the second year. My friends used to be like, 'This is second year's syllabus', and I used to be like, 'I don't know'. I wasn't good at sports or studies. I didn't even have girlfriends as I was too shy and never spoke to them. But, he wanted to become big in life and do something bigger. However, he didn't have any clue about how to do it. His only goal was to come out of poverty. That fellow was innocent. I miss myself."

Sethupathi in earlier interviews has mentioned working as a salesman, cashier, and phone booth operator while studying in college. After graduating in commerce, the actor joined a wholesale cement business. Later, he moved to Dubai as an accountant as the job paid him four times more than what he was being paid in India. Unsatisfied with his work, he returned to India.

After returning to India in 2003, the actor got married and started an interior decoration business with his friends. Later, he joined a marketing company. "If my business had taken off, I would have never become an actor," said Sethupathi to Forbes.

It was around this time that he took up a 9-5 job as an accountant in a theatre company called Koothu-P-Pattaraim. He started to observe the making of plays and hoped that he could too try his luck as an actor. "I had no ambitions or directions in life. All I wanted to is build a home to live in, own a car, and have the ability to repay loans faster," he told Forbes.

After learning he might earn up to Rs 5000 a day acting in tele-serials, he decided to give it a shot. He landed a good role in Tamil tele-serial named Penn in 2006, but the stint was short-lived. He then got background actor roles in Drishyum (2006) and Pudhupettai (2006). Eventually, his life turned after he landed a lead role in the 2010 film Thenmerku Paruvakaatru, followed by a series of prominent films in 2012. Now, Sethupathi is one of the most sought-after actors in the country.

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