Exclusive! Balasaravanan: I don't find any difference between acting for films, series and OTT projects

Balasaravanan's character of a rigid cop in Zee5's recently released web series, Vilangu, was the first-of-its-kind role for him. Almost all his portrayals till recently included that of a hero's friend or those which involved ample humour elements in it. The young actor is gratified that he has been receiving lots of praise for his new avatar.

He also appears in a different body language in the project as he had shed a few kilos before it went on floors in Trichy. From 102 kg to 80 kg, he lost 22 kilos and is now planning to lose 10 kg more.

He said, "I have been wanting to look really fit for a long time. When I was approached to play the character of an enthusiastic college student in Sivakarthikeyan's Don, I decided to lose weight, no matter what. But I wanted the weight loss to happen in an organic way."

Bala added that he hardly went to the gym to lose weight. "I solely depended on walking and running. I also used to do planks. These basic activities helped me become trim and fit in 70 days. I feel more energetic now. I can't wait to lose 10 more kilos," he said.

Director Prasanth Pandiyaraj's Vilangu marked his OTT debut as well. According to him, he did not feel any difference between shooting for films and web series. He said, "For an actor, it is all about emoting and getting into the shoes of the character, written by a writer or a filmmaker. Vilangu is my first web series and first OTT project. For me, the acting process was similar to acting in movies."

Unlike the soft roles he had essayed till date, the character in the series required him to constantly abuse many people in it. How challenging was it to do that? "If you look closely at the story, the cop character I play does not abuse any common man. He uses offensive words only at criminals and other anti-social elements. Moreover, he is seen using swear words only if such people test his patience. It was fun and challenging playing something different," he said.