His meteoric rise in filmdom has meant a new BMW, a plush penthouse and even some great line-up of movies. But one thing hasn’t changed — his simplicity and approach to life.

Director Vijay today is a star in his own right. After magnum opus’ like Madhrasapattinam and Deiva Thirumagal, the filmmaker in his early 30s has been in the news for his proximity to the gorgeous Amala Paul.

However, he in this exclusive to DC, says, “I like her immensely as a friend and a professional. We share a very healthy friendship and have a great working equation. It’s sad that so much of speculation is around which puts our families in a very awkward situation.”

Does ‘we’re just good friends’ mean, that’s all we are willing to reveal, rest is left to your imagination?

“Not at all. We are just that. I am not the type to hide a relationship. My work occupies me entirely and I work till 2:30am,” he says.

And what about the duplex penthouse in Khader Nawaz Khan Road. Is it, as reported, for her? He laughs, pauses and matter-of-factly, asserts, “I worked really hard to earn what I have and wanted to gift my parents a nice home. This was for the family and not for Amala.”

Vijay who is shooting for his next Thandavam with his favourite hero Vikram, says, “Vikram is a wonderful human being. He looks so fresh and very young in my next.”

He adds, “He always tells me not to get affected by speculations about my personal life. But I felt the need to talk about it.” Any other firm friends and their advice? 
“Yes, I am very close to G.V. Prakash, Anushka and Pia Bajpai. Arya too is very warm towards me. They all tell me not to be sensitive but I am a simple person who is working hard and I don’t want to be represented wrongly.”

Amala who’s star is rising in the industry is said to have gone on a long drive in his new BMW 5 series, is that false too? “Yes. I bought the car for myself and we’ve never gone on any long drive."
Does his mentor filmmaker Priyadarshan have a take on his rumoured romance? “He is everything to me and he gifted me my art and livelihood. He only advices me to focus on work and make good cinema.”