Exclusive! Viswant Duddumpudi: Boyfriend for Hire reflects the truths of society placing audiences in a comfort zone

The budding actor, who shot to fame with films like Kerintha, Manamantha and Jersey, will next headline a peppy rom-com Boyfriend for Hire that releases in theatres this Friday

Viswant Duddumpudi

Viswant Duddumpudi, the Kerintha find who has tread the ‘slow-and-steady’ path in building his career as an actor, making a mark in films like Jersey, Manamantha and O Pitta Katha, is finally stepping up the ante in his quest to be a part of meaningful cinema. He has over 5-6 films in the pipeline, including the much-awaited RC15, helmed by Shankar, but Boyfriend for Hire will be the first among them to hit theatres tomorrow. In a chat with OTTplay.com, he spills the beans about the film.

The emotion behind Boyfriend for Hire:

The core emotion beneath Boyfriend for Hire is love. While this may seem like any other love story at the outset, the treatment is very novel and grabs your attention. These are times when several new-age films are in vogue and we throw light on the idea of hiring a boyfriend in this story. It is this idea that paves way for some fun. For instance, a Hindi film like Vicky Donor may have tackled sperm donation as an idea, but the film is ultimately a love story with an interesting conflict. We’re treading the same path with another new concept.

Opening up for the film and why acting has proved cathartic for him:

I’ve moved out of my comfort zone for the film and in real life, I am a person with a lot of inhibitions and apprehension. The film gave me an opportunity to open up. In real life, I don’t socialise easily and I open up only between action and cut. When I entered films, acting proved cathartic and it liberated me. Boyfriend for Hire is still a clean film but there are parts where my character goes over the top and brings some zing to the narrative.

Boyfriend for Hire - Not a ‘bold’ but a ‘peppy’ film:

It’s not a bold film but a modern attempt. The concept is new but there’s not much you can change about love - the emotion remains the same regardless of the times. Why will women hire such an introverted guy as a boyfriend and how does he help them forms the crux of the film. The trailer may suggest that the women may hire him for a few nocturnal adventures, but the film isn’t that - it’s just the way the character is packaged.

The film is also about a girl who has her own aspirations and doesn’t want to get married early. My character enters her life to inform her parents about giving their daughter the space she deserves in life. Many women experience such conflicts in the film and I come to their rescue. When a socially awkward guy like him helps out women, he becomes the talk of the town. Such instances have surfaced in Bengaluru too and in the film, we’ve exaggerated this concept to an extent.

A woman may not be at liberty to discuss everything under the sun even with their best friend but it’s easy to open up to a stranger. Applications like ‘Boyfriend for Hire’ provide emotional support and can even serve the purpose of a therapist. We’ve dealt with it on an emotional level. I don’t think these will affect society in any which way - you shouldn’t take them too seriously.

A clean entertainer in the offing that’s also a coming-of-age tale, commentary on arranged marriages:

Boyfriend for Hire will remind you of Venkatesh garu’s fun films in the 1990s - clean and entertaining. The film deals with the transformation of a youngster who’s awkward with women and gets to understand them better through the ‘boyfriend for hire’ idea. He messes up, falls and bounces back later. I believe men are more prone to committing mistakes in their teens and early 20s than women (they’re mature beyond their age).

Arjun in Boyfriend for Hire has a sour experience with girls early on in his life and distances himself from them. The transition makes for good viewing in the form of a song - the title track tells his story of how such a guy ultimately falls for a woman. Malavika Satheesan was very young when she auditioned for the role. She learnt the ropes of the craft through the making and grasped it very well. The rapport was wonderful because we were a young team.

The story can be interpreted as a guy finding the match of his dreams. Generally, men and women have a set of expectations from their partners but life is beyond such lists. The film tells us that one shouldn’t restrict their idea of a soulmate and expect everyone they meet, to fall in line. Boyfriend for Hire is a sugar-coated pill in a way - it tells many truths about society while placing the audience in a comfort zone.

In addition, the story is also a commentary on arranged marriages in society. All that parents seek is an NRI with a job, a good pay packet and assets these days. How is it even practically possible for a man and a woman to understand each other over a few meetings and strike an alliance? Misunderstandings will inevitably arise later and they’re in a soup. As a broad theme, this is what the film tries to convey.

Aimed for the younger audience like Kerintha:

I believe every film has a different target audience and is meant to cater to a certain age group. We aim to reach out to the younger lot. Kerintha, my first film, too reached out to audiences between 15 and 32. Boyfriend for Hire is targeted at the youth and if they like it, they’ll certainly bring their audiences to watch it.

If the film will strike a chord with socially awkward men?

I have a best friend named Anutham back in Tamil Nadu and I saw he struggled to strike up a conversation with a girl he loved in college. There are so many such men around us and even when I talk to him, and ask him to get married, he is still apprehensive about taking the first step and conversing with women. Maybe, marriage will change them?

Cinema more important than lead roles or supporting roles:

I feel cinema is bigger than actors or lead roles. I always want the film to work on the whole even if it doesn’t revolve around me completely. Only if the film works and gives the story its due, will I have a career. My characters in Manamantha, Kerintha stood out because the films had a larger purpose. I took up Jersey because the director Gowtham is a very good friend. I was supposed to do Malli Raava with him and it didn’t materialise then - we teamed up for Jersey later. I belong to a new generation and it’s important to experiment. Otherwise, how will cinema change?

The wait for good scripts between Manamantha, Kerintha and Jersey and the insecurity about not making it big

I felt insecure many times. I am a very underconfident soul and I live in my cocoon. I am confident in front of the camera because I don’t need to be myself on the screen. I take note of every script I listen to for the kick of it. I heard over 185 scripts and I finalised 8 of them. I believe I’ve done good films generally. I have a niche market and there are minimum guarantee returns for my projects. I am waiting for that one turnaround film that’ll push my boundaries.

I was very disoriented during COVID-19. O Pitta Katha had just released, I was on a high and was slated to do 4-5 films at once. I felt lost. Post COVID, I took a break for a couple of months and I’ve been shooting non-stop for 5 films since January last year. I am in a very happy space now. In cinema, it’s never about money for me, I crave respect.

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