Arjun is quite excited with the response of Vandematharam...

Vandae Maatharam, released without much hype, but actor Arjun is quite excited with the response he's been getting for the film. The film, also starring Mammooty and Sneha and directed by Aravind D, hit screens last Friday. "I won't say Vandae Maatharam has an unusual storyline," begins Arjun, who plays a police officer in the film, "It's actually a subject that's been commonly made into films. It's about terrorists infiltrating the country. But, the subject has been treated in an unusual way." The movie, a bilingual, was earlier titled Aruvadai in Tamil. "Well, it has nothing to do with farmers though there are a few scenes where we talk about nationalising the rivers," Arjun clarifies and adds, "Also, we wanted to release the film simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam as Vandae Maatharam." Arjun says there were several reasons for the film's delay in hitting the screens. "It was difficult to coordinate the dates because all the actors were committed to other films as well. Also, producer Henry was waiting to snap up the title Vandae Maatharam in Tamil as well," he says. The Action King doesn't have a heroine in this film, which comes as quite a surprise. "Yes, Sneha is paired opposite Mammooty," he smiles, "Though Aravind had written some romantic scenes and a few songs for me, we later realised I actually didn't need a romantic partner in this film." Sharing screen space with Mammooty, Arjun says, was an enjoyable experience and, the actor insists he didn't feel insecure in Mammooka's presence. "In fact, I feel a lot more secure working with established actors because I know the entire movie is not on my shoulders," he explains. "I've worked with several top stars like Sivaji Ganesan, Kamal Haasan and Nana Patekar. Kuruthi Punal was such a beautiful experience. It was Kamal's own production and yet, he offered me the better character," he adds. Arjun, who has Vallakottai, Maasi and Meikaan in hand, says that the shooting for Vallakottai is almost over. "It's a commercial film, like Giri. Interestingly, I have several get-ups in this film. I dress up as 'Nayagan' Kamal, 'Krrish' Hrithik and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Depp among others to fight the villains." Playing cop and doing action roles time and again isn't tiring, he says. "Imagine Jackie Chan not doing action comedies and opting to do emotional dramas and tear-jerkers!" he shoots back. But at times, the actor says that he's open to experimenting. "I like doing films that are not my kind, but I don't want to take a risk on others' money. That's why I made Vedam. In fact, I'm planning to remake the film in Hindi myself. I've already started work on the Hindi version. I'm also working on a fresh script that questions the system of our country. I might call it Jai Hind 2," he signs off.