I almost turned alcoholic: Tamil actor Vishal Krishna

Tamil film Avan Ivan may have found mixed reviews with the critics, but actor Vishal Krishna is one happy man. The actor, who played Walter Vanangamudi in the film, has pushed all boundaries and thereby set for himself a brand new benchmark. With several critics surprised by his performance in the movie, Vishal has been on a new high off late.

Apart from the fact that he sported as many as nine looks, he also sported a squint right through the film too. “Sporting the squint was the toughest job ever. Though it was something unique to the character that I played, it was quite a challenge to keep the squint on right through, even during the song and dance routine. Since it was constant pressure on the eyes; I suffered terrible headaches while shooting. It became more of a challenge. I even had to ride a bike with a squint. I couldn’t even see what was in front of me,” he recalls.

In fact, the squint had given him so much stress that he tells us that he almost turned alcoholic. “I had so much pain in my eyes, that led to constant headaches over time. In my attempt to forget the pain, I took up to drinking. So much so, that I had almost became an alcoholic. However, it was with the support of my co-star Arya that I knocked off the habit. If not for him, I would have probably hit the rehab center,” he reminisces. Nevertheless, the actor doesn’t regret any of the effort he put in. “I enjoyed every bit of shooting and I am rather glad that my hard work has finally paid off,” he says.

Vishal is currently busy shooting for his next film Prabhakaran, which also stars actor Sameera Reddy. “It’s a remake of a Telugu film called Souryam. However, director Prabhu Deva has changed the script to suit the audience in Kollywood. It’s fun to be shooting with this team,” he says.