Thalaivasal Vijay on playing Chef Nedumaaran in Resort: ‘The character came more from my own personality’

I've acted in around 350 to 400 films over the course of my career and audiences appreciated those performances. However, I'd never been offered a role where I could portray someone who was fluent in English, sophisticated, well-dressed, commanding, and slightly aristocratic in his manner. That side of my personality had never been explored on screen. People have even told me that this role reminds them of the older version of Vijay Sir. This character has style, class, confidence, and authority. My education, the degrees I've completed, and my extensive travels all came handy.

To be honest, after a very long time, I really looked forward to going to the shoot every day. Another bonus was that I could use my English naturally. The series is being aired in five languages, so using English where appropriate added authenticity. Before every shoot, I'd read my scenes in advance and think about where I could add my own expressions. Quite a few of the dialogues you hear are actually my own improvisations—phrases such as "The termite is not dead yet" or "Like a cat on a hot tin roof."

Not really. The character came more from my own personality than from observing anyone else. I've always been disciplined. I respect other people's time, and I practise that even at home. I tell my children the same thing—whether it's a meeting or even a social gathering, always be on time. Respecting other people's time is something my father instilled in me. Another habit I have is putting everything back in its proper place after using it. Those qualities naturally fitted the character, so I simply built on them.

Moreover, I had done a one-year catering course earlier. I specialised in restaurant and counter service. The course covered table setting, cutlery placement, napkin folding, and all those finer details of hospitality. I loved the industry because you meet new people every day. It's never monotonous. Every day brings different guests and different experiences, and that's what appealed to me.

We used to meet the executive chef occasionally, and ultimately, he was the boss. Most of the executive chefs I encountered were extremely strict. (laughs.) In fact, many chefs will tell you that you have to learn to work under that sort of discipline; otherwise, they'll give you a really hard time.

Later, one of the chefs I interacted with told me, “If we're too friendly with the staff, the kitchen won't function. There's no democracy in a professional kitchen." That stayed with me. At the end of the day, people come to a hotel primarily for the food. The ambience, décor and everything else come afterwards. If something goes wrong, the first person held accountable is the chef. That's why they maintain discipline so strictly.

To some extent, yes. Chef Nedumaaran is not a bad person, but he is disciplined. If people don't listen or don't take their responsibilities seriously, he does get angry. That aspect of the character felt quite natural to me.

No, not professionally. But I did cook for my children when they were training in competitive swimming. They used to swim nearly 10 kilometres a day and burn between 8,000 and 9,000 calories. I didn't believe in relying on supplements, especially when they were young. I wanted them to get proper nutrition through food.

For example, an ordinary idli contains about 50 calories. After intense training, children are often too exhausted to eat solid food—they'd rather just have a drink and go to sleep. So I started experimenting.

I'd mash minced chicken or mutton, nuts and dried fruits into the idli mixture. Later, I even tried steaming the mixture on small bread rounds. That increased the calorie content of the idli from around 50 to roughly 80 calories without making it difficult to eat. My wife later improved the idea even further by powdering the mixture and serving it with kurma so the children would enjoy it more.

I also cook English breakfasts quite often—sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs—that sort of thing. I've never formally learnt cooking, but my catering education gave me a good understanding of kitchen equipment, dining etiquette and service.

I still remember all the different types of spoons and forks, including the fish fork, dessert spoon, tea spoon, soup spoon, brandy balloon, wine goblet, and even the various styles of napkin folding. The actual cooking skills faded over time, but those fundamentals have stayed with me.

The best chefs in my life have always been at home. My sister is an excellent cook, my mother was wonderful, and so is my wife. Those are the people whose cooking I've admired the most. Of course, over the years I've met many executive chefs while staying in five-star hotels, but guests rarely interact with them. Unless there's a major issue or a VIP visit, chefs generally remain in the kitchen. The kitchen is their domain.

The production hired a professional chef who prepared everything in stages. Since real cooking takes time, we couldn't simply film an entire dish from start to finish. We'd shoot it step by step. The chef would guide me—"Add this now," "Stir this," "Plate it this way”—and we’d film each stage separately.

Plenty. The cast became like a family. My kitchen team includes several young actors, and the atmosphere on set was wonderful. Because there's no television censorship on the streaming platform, my character uses strong language when things go wrong. It's never meant to be offensive—it's simply the way a chef expresses urgency under pressure.

There are so many enjoyable moments throughout the series, and I genuinely felt that this character could easily have sustained a hundred episodes. The series has been number one in Karnataka for months and among the top-performing shows in Tamil Nadu. Even the Hindi version has performed exceptionally well.

The most surprising thing is that people now recognise me as Nedumaaran. For many years people remembered me for Thalaivasal, but now they call me "Chef Nedumaaran" wherever I go.

Everyone visits hotels and resorts, but very few people know what actually happens behind the scenes. Guests see the rooms, the restaurants and the celebrations, but they never see the people who work tirelessly to make everything happen. That's what makes this series unique—it takes viewers inside the world of a luxury resort.

The other thing I admire is the writing. Director Praveen Bennett first contacted me over a decade ago while he was studying Visual Communication. He wanted me to act in his student short film. I'd never acted in a student project before, but I agreed because I wanted to experiment. That short film went on to win several awards. Seeing how much he's grown since then has been incredibly satisfying.

One thing I particularly appreciate is that he deliberately avoided sensationalism. He could easily have filled the series with crime, drugs or other controversial elements to increase viewership, but he chose not to. Instead, he made a clean family drama where every character has depth and every action has a reason. I respect that immensely. The cinematographer also deserves enormous credit. He captured every emotion beautifully.

As an actor, this format gives you far more scope than a feature film. In a film, you may only have fifteen or twenty minutes to establish a character. In a long-form series, you have the time to explore every layer of the performance. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Yes! There's a catering college hosting a major chef competition for students across South India, and they've invited me to present the prizes and judge the event as executive chef Nedumaaran. It's wonderful to see how completely audiences have embraced the character.

Even when I visit restaurants now, people often send me gift hampers or cakes. Recently, someone at a café told me they admired the character's body language and communication. Moments like that are incredibly rewarding.

It depends entirely on my mood.

Yam fry. My grandmother used to make it beautifully with tomatoes.

Not really. I only attempt dishes I know I can make reasonably well.

Fermented rice (pazhaya saadham)

Cheese. Anything with cheese.