VIKRAM’S BLIND, AGAIN!

The actor says he has played the role differently from Kaasi this time round

    He played a blind poet and singer in Kaasi (2001). And now, after more than a decade, Vikram has turned blind again for one of his roles in his upcoming flick Thaandavam, directed by Vijay. That’s not all — he plays a blind man with human echolocation, which is the ability to detect objects in the environment by sensing echoes from objects. 

    Does he think he’s played it differently from the role he did in Kaasi? “Well, this is very different in nature. If a character similar to what I’ve done earlier comes along, I ensure that it’s different. For instance, if I’m offered a cop character, I’ll ensure that it’s very different from Saamy. I think I can play the role of a blind person at least five times, and do it differently each time,” said Vikram. 

    To train for the role as a blind man, the actor underwent special sessions with Daniel Kish, an internationallyrenowned expert of human echolocation. “Though he became blind when he was just one, he can do everything like we can. He can walk confidently, he can sense the objects around him and he can even cycle,” says the actor, “It was a privilege for us to have him train me for this role.” 
 
WHAT’S HUMAN ECHOLOCATION? 

    This method is used by blind people primarily to navigate using auditory clues. With the help of sounds (by tapping their canes, making clicking noises), they can interpret the sound waves reflected by nearby objects. This in turn helps them to judge the location and size of the objects. Human echolocation is similar to the animal echolocation concept which is used by some animals like bats, whales and dolphins.

Source : Times Of India
Dated : AUG-2-2012