Kenny To Chiyaan

This show was a master piece from Vijay TV. They already do an awesome job with the show "Sigaram Thotta Manidhargal", and they did with Vikram here and named this episode "Kenny To Chiyaan". However this is not an interview but has dialogs with everyone other than Vikram.

Biographies are rare in Indian TV and movies. We associate more with Movie personalities and while most of the interviews laud the hero in front of them, Vijay TV does things differently. They picked the right guy in Vikram. While I knew that Vikram had a though life before Sethu and how hard he worked for Sethu, I didn't know rest of the story which this show presented.

I am so used the interviews of movie stars in Doordarshan and later in SUN and Raj and other channels, when I first saw Vikram in Koffee with Anu, I was impressed with the show. It was not your regular interview where the movie personalities were lauded about their performances in specific movies which were singled out, they were appreciated but it was more about them and what they thought and felt and who they were. One show of Koffee with Anu and you can make out who the underlying person is behind the star.

I start talking about Vikram here because thats how I started observing him. The show was fun where Anu didn't have to work hard while Vikram entertained and pulled the leg of both Anu and the other guest Silambarasan. He was serious, but a joke was there around the corner all the time, importantly he wasn't obnoxious, which some of the famous people could be. He was confident of himself and comfortable about himself and the people around him.

I came out of the show being a fan of Vikram, for his personality. It was like another SPB whom I admire a lot for his personality.

Then I got to watch Vikram spending a day with the finalists of the Super Singer. This was another facet of him where there were people around who are not that famous, not stars, but upcoming youngsters. The result was same, Vikram was the same guy who made everyone around him comfortable and didn't have fun at others expense.

I was never a fan of Sethu for I had watched it in a tape which was not so good in terms of quality. I knew he was a terrific actor and I liked his Samy, Dhool etc for the pure energy he brought. It infact is the same energy he brought in all his shows.


The show Kenny to Chiyaan didn't show Vikram other than his photos from when he was young. It was a serious of interviews from his hostel warden to his parents and friends. The story of Vikram goes thus:

Vikram was the eldest son of 3. He was sent to a hostel when he was about 12. The reasons were not clear and his mom and dad were interviewed in different surroundings which didn't tell much about them. But Vikram was left in the hostel and his mom on the way back becoming very sad decides to turn around to come see how he was doing. They drove back and saw him watching the other kids play from a distance. He seemed sad to her. His mom went and hugged him there against the wishes of others and Kenny didn't say much.

A few days later she got a letter from Kenny stating that he likes the place and he likes the flowers and the surroundings. He spent his time doing everything under the sun from playing sports to learning various musical instruments. There were quiet a few stories from his teachers etc. about his participating in the first play and few more.

Move forward to Kenny's college days. On a fateful day Kenny is on bike sitting in the back seat with his friend when they meet with the accident. The doctors are thinking that they might have to remove Kenny's right leg. His mom comes and thinks it wasn't too bad of an injury and tells him that it would become ok, which according to her, might have given him some courage. Evidently they find out that there is blood flow to the leg which is the only reason they decide to not remove it. It supposedly was a tough decision for the doctors. For the next year and half he remains bed ridden. His college lecturer was telling how they used to sneak in through the bathroom to see him as visitors were not allowed and the staff used to be appalled that its not just the students but staff as well who did this. There were interviews of lot of the hospital staff who all had stories about Kenny's stay.

Kenny starts his own therapy walking with a stick after year and a half and he takes a part time job. It takes him another 6 months to a year to walk without support. When he begins to walk he starts taking dance lessons to become an actor.

His first movie never came out, but his official debut was Sridhar's movie ( forgot the name ) which is when he became Vikram. He had two other movies release at the same time ( one being Meera ), all of them flop. Then comes his struggle until he makes Sethu. In this period Vikram does lot of Telugu movies in small roles but decides never to do a Tamil movie as a second fiddle. He is determined that if he will do a Tamil movie, it will be as the main character. The one role he did do in between was parthiban's housefull and parthiban had good things to say about vikram.

Evidently Bala was the assistant director in his first movie which had got shelved. 2 years in making, the movie didn't have an area sell. This supposedly was the lowest point of his life when he had lots of personal and emotion issues.

The movie came out, 3 weeks, no one came to the theatres and it was about to be taken off when the crowds came in. And vikram becomes Chiyaan, the darling of the masses. I have often wondered before this show when people say that Vijay is their thalaivan or its ajith, and why not many term Vikram as a great star. Isn't he by far the best of this younger lot?

I wish Vikram great future, something he has earned with hardwork and determination.

New Year 2007

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous 2007.

The shows for the new year on Vijay TV truly rocked. The best shows were there and I think Vijay TV has created its own stars by familiarizing us with the Stars of its own shows like "Kalakka povadhu Champion", "Super Singer", "Jodi Number One". The is a brief of the shows which were played during the new year that I have seen so far:


From Kenny to Chiyaan
This was a 1 hour show which was truly inspiration. It was how Kenny became Vikram and then Chiyaan.

Kalakka Povadhu Champion 2
This show airs every week and is a stand up. While it wasn't as great as the 2 hour Diwali Special, this is probably the best show I have seen on tamil TV.

Jodi Number 1
This show was funny full of outtakes from the famous dance show where the results of the finals would be announced next week.

There is also a show where the Super Singers sing the 2006 songs. Yet to watch it.

Koffee with Anu
ofcourse, with Yuvan Shankar Raja and Vishaal. Though I enjoyed the show of YG Mahendran and Mouli a week before better, this show rocks, Anu can entertain no matter who the guests are.

Leoni Pattimandram was great in Diwali ( who is a greater poet with 4 speakers talking for Pattukottai, Kannadasn, Vaali and Vairamuthu ) but this one wasn't bad either. The topic was whether tamil cinema is nijam or nizal.


Haven't watched some more of the shows yet, but will be back writing more about each show listed above and as and when I see the rest.

Comment from Anu

I am delighted. What are the chances that you write about a celebrity and they read / respond / appreciate your post. Posted a message in the Vijay TV forum and got the following response from Anu, host of the show "Koffee with Anu":

http://forum.indya.com/showthread.php?t=10499

Hi Veeran
Thank you for your feedback. Your attention to detail is impressive and it is not often that the audience looks beyond the obvious.(i m talking about your comments re the gift hamper) It is very encouraging to read posts like yours.
By the way, the last episode aired here was Radhika & Sarath Kumar's. It was telecast yesterday.
Enjoy your weekend
Best regards
Anu Hasan
P.S. i ll definitely check the link you sent me.

Thanks for the response Anu. You made my day.

Moments of Koffee with Anu - Parthiban

Although I have been watching all of the episodes of Koffee with Anu ( Thanks to my DVR ), some personalities inspire me so much, I have to come and write about them here.

This week it was Parthiban and another actress whose name I don't know ( she has acted in among other movies, "Thavamai Thavamirundhu") and who was a Miss Andra Pradesh.
Back to Parthiban, whom this post is going to be about. Some moments:

Anu: These days its becoming very easy for new comers to break into the movie industry than when you guys came in. Don't you think its true?
Parthiban: The industry folks back then, when we came in would have said the samething that it was easy for us to come in as compared to them. It might be an on going phenomenon.

Anu: You had mentioned in your book "Kirukkalgal" that a poem inspired you to live when you where struggling.
Parthiban: Everyone who struggles sometimes thinks of death and it needs courage to come out at that moment. I had mentioned in "Kirukalgal" that this poem inspired me :

"Vaazndhu enna seyya pogirom, sethu thulaippome"
"Sethu enna pogirom, vaandhu dhaan thulaippome"

A bit later in the show:
Anu: A poem which inspired you recently.
Parthiban ( with a rose in his hand ): Mulkal irundhum, sirikka marakka villayee malargal!!

Something I didn't know: Parthiban runs an orphanage and spends a great deal of time with those kids. He is supposed to be a great dad for his 3 kids.

Movie trivia: The Parthiban-Vadivelu jokes which started with Barathi-Kannama were all penned for a parthiban movie when Vadivelu wasn't that big a star but the movie didn't get started after scripting. Parthiban had asked cheran to include it in B-K citing the movie to be too serious which cheran resisted but included at the insistance of the producer who loved the idea. Later, cheran include the same in his next movie by himself.

There are some episodes which Anu really has to manage it through because of the guests. But not this one, Patrhiban was quick and witty and there was no moment when the show got slow. He also showed that he was a great thinker and a quick thinker. Adding "Kirukkalgal" to my wish list to read.

Overall, Anu has been doing a great job with the show ( sorry suchi ), has handled any kind of guest from the moody and depressed ( "Raghuvaran" ), the oldies ( "Saroja Devi"), the thoughtful ( "Vivek"), to the quick and witty ("Parthiban"). She deserves a great kudos for a job fabulously done.

Koffee With Anu - Vivek, Sangeetha

I liked Koffee with Suchi and I like Koffee with Anu as well. Comparisons are unavoidable: while I liked Suchi better ( she was cute ) but the better half likes Anu better. More on that later, but on to the latest episode.

I love Vivek comedy and although I might have missed his best movies, due to a big void in my tamil movie watching routine, having Vijay TV has changed a few things. I get to catch the "Sirippo Sirippu" occassionally other than the movies. Vivek's comedy mostly based on the day to day practices brings in laughter and doesn't hurt anyone either.

As a person Vivek seems to be the same way as well, as was on display in Koffee with Anu. A very thoughtful person, a voracious reader, he is not trying to steal the limelight all the time. Even when he made fun of Sangeetha or Anu, it was very sportive and not hurting ( this is so unlike the kounder brand of comedy or even vadivelu. I wonder if they would act similarly in interviews too as that his how they have branded humor ).


I like the research the team of Koffee with Anu ( Suchi earlier ) do where they talk about the lesser known aspects of the guest. In vivek's case, it was his letter which he wrote to a nation figure as a kid ( vivek mentioning it was our mama ponnu.....nehru mama's ponnu annai indira gandhi ). Was also interesting to hear how he got to work with Balachander, but it was too brief, I wished it was discussed well.

I liked the comments from others on the guests. It was good to hear Vivek's mom but I am not sure how they chose Kavingar Vairamuthu. However, I liked one of the comments which Vairamuthu made in appreciation of Vivek. He refered a movie where Vivek mentions: "Yenda unga edhirpai therivikka bus lorry nu koluthuringa. Koluthiradha irundhaa kuppai ya kolutha vendiyadhu dhaane".

Nothing much to say about Sangeetha, she didn't stay in my memory. I was disappointed that they chose Sangeetha to partner Vivek. She is a very serious person and Vivek is quiet too among such people. I wish they had brought someone like Vikram to partner Vivek.

Overall, although I was happy to see Vivek on the show, I was left wanting for more and it wasn't a fulfilling episode.

A word about Anu. She has done a good job stepping on Suchi's shoes and is hardly distracting ( Suchi was guilty in this aspect ). It is also refreshing to see Vijay TV changing anchors even though the new one might not seem to be great, it gives a change to what could become monotonous. ( We need a new Grandmaster )