Kutti Bhavani is a character that leaves the audience in awe within just fifteen minutes after the opening credits roll in Vijay starrer Master.
It is here where the director shows the transformation of young Bhavani into a ruthless villain.
The role
The adult version of Bhavani is played by Vijay Sethupathi and the audience already feels a sense of dread when the actor appears on the screen. While the character of Bhavani is being widely appreciated, the credit goes to actor
Mahendran too who played the younger version.
Mahendran, the actor
Mahendran has been doing small and insignificant roles in the Tamil film industry for the last fifteen years. The actor who began acting at the age of three had acted in more than one hundred movies in six languages as a child artist. Interestingly, it is a record by a child artist in India.
Movie Nattamai released in 1994 is Mahendran’s debut film. He won the Tamil Nadu state award for the best child actor in 1995 for the movie Thaikulame Thaikulame.
Though he was re-launched as a young actor in 2013 through Vizha, Mahendran wasn’t noticed.
He then went on to act in around six movies. However, all those movies turned out to be box office duds. Before Master, Mahendran had acted in Namma Oorukku Ennatan Aachu that was released in 2018. He didn’t get many offers for the next two years until lady luck shined on him in the form of Kutti Bhavani.
What Mahendran got to say
“Vijay had told Lokesh that I had acted well. He also said that I was the right person to don that role. I am really happy that he felt so. To be honest, I haven’t acted without sporting a beard until then. Even now, you wouldn’t recognize me if I shave off my beard,” says Mahendran.
“Now, everyone calls me Kutti Bhavani. This is not just any character that is shown in the flashback. This is a strong character portrayed by an extraordinary actor like Vijay Sethupathi. I was very particular that I should do something unique to make that character special. I was obviously stressed. All the credit goes to Lokesh,” Mahendran signs off.
