With Dhruva Natchathiram, Vikram cements his position as a commercial action superstar

An actor of substance and star Vikram celebrates his 51st birthday on 17 April. He’s has been on a roll ever since his film Iru Mugan with Nayanthara, directed by Anand Shankar, turned out to be one of 2016’s hits. The actor’s fans and critics loved him in a difficult role in this action entertainer, as he played the hero and the villain.

Chiyaan Vikram — as he is called by his fans after the name of a character he essayed in the memorable film Sethu — is today a happy and content man.

He is currently doing two films simultaneously: Gautham Menon’s action espionage spy thriller Dhruva Natchathiram and Vijay Chander’s action masala entertainer Sketch with Tamannaah playing the female lead.

The actor has never done two films at the same time, but is now forced to due to his commitments. There are at least two other directors waiting to start their projects once he finishes these two films.

Vikram’s birthday treat has been a special teaser-trailer of Dhruva Natchathiram, which was impressive and stylish. The 2 minute 38 seconds teaser reminds you of the Jason Bourne series.

The first shot itself hooks you with a private jet landing in a deserted airfield, as Vikram steps into a waiting Mercedes Benz S Class. As he enters the car in the background one hears possibly the antagonist’s voice saying: “Welcome back John”.

The teaser has shot expectations high and it has already reached over 1 million hits in less than 24 hours. Dhruva Natchathiram is slated for release for the Independence Day weekend.

Dhruva Natchithram is Gautham Menon’s big budget action entertainer shot in US and India. Menon had said that all these years he was waiting to work with Vikram, who he admires a lot for his acting and screen presence. This film has been Menon’s dream project as it was announced a few years back with Suriya playing the international spy.

But the actor and the director had a public spatand the project was shelved. Later Menon revived the project with Vikram playing the lead.

Gautham Menon had Tweeted during the teaser launch: “Thank you for the opportunity. Been waiting from my first film. Looking forward to this now with you Vikram sir!”

Thank you for the opportunity. Been waiting from my first film. Looking forward to this now with you Vikram sir! https://t.co/A0xOrXOMOv

— Gauthamvasudevmenon (@menongautham) January 14, 2017

It is obvious that Vikram is now concentrating more on action entertainers.

The actor had made a name for himself doing action films like Dhil, Dhool and Shankar’s Anniyan, which gave him a new reach. But somewhere along the way he tried to do more meaningful films including Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, which did not work at the box-office.

After the success of Iru Mugan, he has taken a decision to concentrate more on commercial entertainers, which also can be dubbed into Telugu, where he has a strong presence, and Hindi (for the satellite television market).