Arya's Next

Among the many things I admire about Hollywood is the refusal of their actors to be stuck with a certain image. I've always thought that this was particularly evident in the case of their heroes like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Though universally acknowledged as good-looking studs, they rarely act in romantic comedies that capitalize purely on their looks and are always on the lookout for roles that offer variety.

So far, Arya has shown himself to be in the same mould. Though he quickly earned the tag of heartthrob after movies like Arindhum Ariyaamalum and ULLam Ketkume, he hasn't stuck only to soft, romantic roles that exploit - and build - his pin-up boy image since then. As his role of a rowdy in Pattiyal or the role of the auto driver in Oram Po showed, he hasn't shied away from roles that force him to hide his suave good looks. He's at it again, taking on the role of a long-haired, bearded sadhu in the upcoming Naan KadavuL. And following that, he is back to his original self in Vishnu Vardhan's Sarvam, which is supposed to be a youthful love story.

We only need to think of Arvind Swamy and Abbas to remember what happens to heartthrobs who get stereotyped. Arya seems to be avoiding that route so far and just for that, I hope both these movies click.