Here's The Actual Reason Why Arvind Swamy Decided To Step Out Of The Filmy Limelight!

Rusk Raghu Updated on Dec 20, 2016

Arvind Swamy made quite a sensational debut at the tender age of 21. The foster son of a wealthy businessman VD Swamy, he took up modelling to make some pocket money. This was when he was spotted by Mani Ratnam. He was then cast as the young district collector in "Dalapathi". The rest as they say, is history.

His claim to fame followed under the guidance of Mani Ratnam again when he was signed on to play the lead role in "Roja". Arvind Swamy had become a household name for film fans across the country. Arvind completed his masters in International business in California from the Wake Forest University after Roja.

His performance in Bombay, that chronicled the 1992 Bombay riots won him several awards at state level and national level. After his soulful performance in Bombay, Arvind Swamy was touted as one of the few actors in the country who had a Pan-Indian appeal.

He did several films in the following years like Mounam and Merupu Kalalu. But after just 16 films, Arvind Swamy decided that he had enough of films. He decided to take a break from the industry at the age of 29. He went into business with his father, something that he was extremely passionate about. He has his own venture now that deals in payroll processing and temporary staffing in India. He employs about 5000 people under him currently.

Arvind Swamy was always interested in the filmmaking process and what happened behind the camera than acting in front of one. He once called the fame, glamour and adulation he got from his films as a healthy distraction. He confessed that cinema was one way he coped with the death of his parents. You can even see the difference in his person when he seemed to have aged several years in between Roja and Bombay. He planned to return to filmmaking after a break of 4-5 years. Fate however had other plans.

He was in a bad accident that resulted in a major spine injury, following which he was left bedridden with a paralyzed leg. It took him about 4-5 years to completely recuperate from this injury. The injury and the treatment procedure took its toll on Arvind and he went completely out of shape. Added to this was his divorce which would severely depress any normal person.

Enter Mani Ratnam, who decided that this was a little too much. Mani sir scolded Arvind Swamy for letting go of his life like this. He decided that Arvind had to comeback with his upcoming film and pushed him to get back into shape. What followed then was the transformation of Arvind Swamy for the 2013 film Kadali. He played a pivotal role in this movie.

However, it was Thani Oruvan (Remade as Dhruva in Telugu) that got peoples heads turning. Initially he joined the project to help write the script, chiefly, the character of Siddharth Abhimanyu. When someone suggested that Arvind should be the one to play Siddharth, he thought why not. That's when one of the most loved badass villains of southern cinema was born.

Arvind Swamy is just one of a few individuals who has managed to successfully resurrect himself from a situation that would severely depress any sane individual. His only weapon to keep depression at bay was to fight and refuse to get bogged down. Although his body was down, he wouldn't let his mind rest and took up activities that would exercise his mind. This phoenix-like rise is something that could be just the kind of inspiration you need to win at life.