Vikram recalls staying in small lodge at the start of career; vowed to stay in a big hotel after seeing Mammootty there

At the beginning of his career, Vikram had to stay in a small lodge. However, when he saw Mammootty sitting at a famous hotel, he vowed to stay there one day.

Actor Vikram took a trip down memory lane and recalled an incident of staying in a small lodge when he started his career. During the promotions of his upcoming film Ponniyin Selvan: 1 in Thiruvananthapuram, Vikram spoke about seeing Mammootty sitting at the famous Hotel Pankaj there. He revealed that he had then vowed that 'one day I will stay at that hotel'.

At the beginning of his career, Vikram had to stay in a small lodge.

Vikram made his debut with En Kadhal Kanmani in 1990 followed by Thanthu Vitten Ennai and Kaaval Geetham in 1991. He featured in Meera the next year and in Dhruvam in 1993. Vikram's breakthrough role was in Bala's directorial debut, Sethu in 1999.

As quoted by India Express, Vikram said at the event, “A long time ago, when you guys were young, say, 1992-93, some of you were not even born. At that time I had done a movie called Meera. It was my second film. Director Joshiy called his manager Shanmugam and he showed my picture in a magazine and informed him that he wanted me to play the character Bhadran in his film Dhruvam.”

Vikram recalled staying at a modest lodge, while Mammootty stayed in Pankaj hotel which led him to make a vow. “So I came over here. I was staying in a very small lodge here. I showed it to my family today. I used to go for walks then and nobody recognised me. One day, when I was walking, a man called out my name. He said that he knows who I am and walked away. He didn’t talk to me. When I used to walk on MG Road, I would see Mammukka sitting at the Pankaj hotel. I then vowed one day I will stay at that hotel. I didn’t stay at the Pankaj hotel but I got to stay at a better hotel now. And I feel very happy. That day just one person recognised me. But today when you guys shout my name, there is nothing that makes me happier. I haven’t done a Malayalam film in a long time. But, still, you shower my films with love and celebration. I love that,” the actor added.

Recently, Vikram was seen in the Tamil film Cobra in dual roles--a genius mathematician and an assassin-hacker. Though the film was produced on a massive budget and shot over three years, it failed to win at the box office. Cobra also stars Srinidhi Shetty, Roshan Mathew and former Indian pacer Irrfan Pathan.

Fans will see him next in Mani Ratnam’s epic Ponniyin Selvan: I, based on the eponymous novel by Kalki. The film will release on September 30. Next, he is all set to join hands with filmmaker Pa. Ranjith for the first time. The project is said to be India’s biggest 3D action film.