Vijay Sethupathi has won the National Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Shilpa, a trans woman, in Thiagarajan Kumararaja's highly acclaimed film Super Deluxe. In the film, Shilpa goes to meet her son and wife, who are unaware of her coming out as a trans woman, and what happens after that makes for the story arc.
Speaking to this reporter, Vijay Sethupathi said, “I want to thank my director Thiagarajan Kumararaja for the way my role in Super Deluxe was written and how it turned out. He wrote and executed it really well. When you have such a strong character on paper, playing the role becomes relatively easy for the actor.”
"As an actor I am always hungry. I am constantly in search of roles that will take me out of the comfort zone. The safe roles bore me to death," he said.
Further commenting on his love for exploring different characters, Vijay Sethupathi said, "I want to explore the darker side of the human personality. That’s why I take up villains’ parts. I want to explore what makes them what they are.”
"When I was playing Shilpa I was Shilpa. The credit must go only to the director because I had no idea how to approach the character. I am so blessed to have played Shilpa. I hope this National Award will encourage more people to watch Super Deluxe. The more people see it, the more the awareness of women like Shilpa trapped in men’s bodies," he said.