Mar 13, 2026 8:03pm IST
Vijay Sethupathi Reveals He Is Learning Carnatic Music: ‘It’s Keeping Me Very Happy’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Vijay Sethupathi is a busy actor. But it isn’t just film shoots that’re keeping him occupied. The actor turned producer is on a new path of discovering and learning Carnatic music.
In a conversation with Variety India, Sethupathi spoke about how he wants the audience to remember him. He said, “I am feeling proud of myself. Not for becoming an actor. Of course I am happy to be in this position. But I am happy for this industry and its working process. Somehow, I cracked it, which I never imagined I could understand. From unknown to known, there is a journey. That’s where Vijay Sethupathi is. Between the known and unknown there is a place where I live and that always excites me.”
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The “Super Deluxe” star also revealed that he has started learning Carnatic music purely for personal happiness. “I am learning Carnatic music now just for my happiness. My teacher comes and teaches me. So whenever I am free, I am learning and that’s keeping me very happy. Because I sing very badly,” the actor says.
He adds that the lessons are helping him appreciate music in a deeper way. “Now I want to understand the basics. I don’t have the patience to listen to songs for long, but my relatives do. They record Ilaiyaraaja and A.R. Rahman songs and listen to them for hours. They even sing along with the lyric books. There are so many people who love music so much. Now when I learn, I look at the lyrics and they excite me. Because of that experience, I have written a few songs for movies. That happened only because this excites me,” he concludes.
On the work front, Sethupathi will next be seen in “Muthu Alias Kaattaan.” The JioHotstar series premieres on March 27.
In the series, the actor performs scenes with an elephant. Asked about the experience, the “Farzi 2” star says, “The first day, I was very scared. I usually don’t take such risks, but the elephant was very cute. Still, I didn’t want to take any chances. The elephant’s caretakers were always there, so without them I didn’t even touch the elephant. They were always present. Working with animals and working with children is very unpredictable. I feel you can’t control either of them. You never know what can happen, so we always have to take those safety measures.”
Directed by National Award-winner M. Manikandan, the show also stars Milind Soman, Sudev Nair, Vadivel Murugan, Risha Jacobs, VJ Paaru, Kalaivani Bhaskar and Muthukumar in key roles.
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