Watch out for Vinay Forrt

Manu Vipin

Upcoming actor Vinay Forrt. KOCHI: With an innate talent, drive and passion for acting, Vinay Forrt is a name to watch out for in Mollywood. You must have noticed his acting prowess in the movie ‘Apporvaragam’ written by GS Anand and Najeem Koya, and directed by Sibi Malayil. The multi-starrer movie had actors Nishan, Asif Ali, Vinay Forrt and Nithya Menon in the lead.

Vinay’s debut Malayalam film was ‘Ritu’ directed by Shyamaprasad but he considers ‘Apporvaragam’ as a milestone in his career as the character of Narayanan in the movie was a challenging one.

“It was a bold character with shades of black but I enjoyed doing it and was well appreciated by the audience,” says Vinay. But he says there was a negative impact to it.

“I started getting more negative roles and I was not so excited about it,” says Vinay who has already acted in more than a dozen films and for a newcomer with no film background it is no easy feat. Luckily for him, the negative tag did not last long and you will soon see him in the lead in some of the movies slated for release in the next few months.

For Vinay acting is his first love. “I also love dance and martial arts,” says the actor who is more into contemporary dancing but is interested in all other dance forms as well. With basic training in all leading martial art forms he now longs to explore the mystical depths of kalaripayattu. A focused actor who is ready to put in all his efforts to the character that he portrays, Vinay says even as a child he was artistically inclined. But his parents and teachers failed to notice his passion.

Unlike many actors who entered the films just by chance, Vinay knew what he wanted to do with his life even as a nine-year-old. A native of Fort Kochi, Vinay says he had to battle all odds to pursue his passion.

“I studied in a conservative school. Other than academics it did not promote any extracurricular activities,” recollects Vinay.

When he was a student of Std IV, he joined the Bala Sangam and was a part of their Kala Jatha. “That was the beginning. I could travel a lot performing at many places. I was initiated into music and dance during my stint at Bala Sangam,” he says. His stint at ‘Lokadharmi- The Centre For Theatre Research And Performance’ headed by Chandradasan was a turning point in his life.

It is at Lokadharmi that he got the chance to enact good roles in several plays and could hone his acting skills. He even got selected as the best theatre actor and awarded national scholarship by the Department Of Culture and Human Resource Development for advanced training in theatre during 2004-2006.

“Apart from learning acting what I found in Lokadharmi was a community of like-minded people. The theatre group played a vital role in sustaining the creative spirit within me,” says Vinay.

It was during this time that Chandra Mohan Nair, former chief of the acting department of FTTI, came to Kochi to head an acting workshop in which Vinay also took part. “After seeing my performance in the play staged by Lokhadharmi titled ‘Porandi’ written by Kavalam Narayana Paniker, Nair asked me to apply for admission in the Film and Television Institute, Pune,” says Vinay who got the second position in the all-India entrance test of FTTI. There he got to learn from the stalwarts of Indian cinema. He also did roles in short films like ‘Show Must Go On’, ‘Paper Boat’, ‘Maram Peyyumbol’, ‘Totha Maina’, ‘Man With An Axe’, ‘Lost Kingdom’, ‘Lonesome Colours’, ‘Carchu FX’ among others.

The character in ‘Ritu’, which he got soon after passing from the film institute, gave Vinay the much deserved break that he was looking for. Before ‘Ritu’ he had acted in an yet to be released Hindi feature film titled ‘Chatak’ directed by Reema Borra who has worked as an assistant to Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra. Vinay also acted in Anup Kurien’s film, ‘The Hunt’ before entering Mollywood. “It was a great learning experience. I could shoot with one of the versatile actors in the country, Naseeruddin Shah, for four days,” says an excited Vinay. Watch out for Vinay in the movie ‘Kanakompathu’ in the lead role. In  ‘Karmayoji’ by V K Prakash based on the theatrical adaptation of Hamlet, Vinay again has a challenging role. “The acting pattern is different in the movie. It is more theatrical,” he says.

There are many more movies up his sleeve and each role is different. “From an auto driver to a DJ, you will find me in a variety of roles soon,” says Vinay.

Apart form acting, Vinay is also doing anchoring for a reality show on Surya TV. No doubt he has unpredictable work schedule, yet he is finding time to keep alive his passion for theatre as well. We wish this young talent, all the very best.

Courtesy  Express News Service : 03 May 2011