Chennai, Sep 4 (IANS): Actor Vijay Sethupathi says his upcoming Tamil film "Karuppan", in which he plays a bull tamer, is not based on the Jallikattu row which happened earlier this year in Tamil Nadu.

He says the film is about Tamil culture.

In the film, directed by R. Panneerselvam, Vijay will be seen in a full-blown rural avatar.

"The film is not about the recent Jallikattu issue. Even though I play a bull tamer, the film is about Tamil culture and my character's name Karuppan is the identity of a lot of Tamilians across the globe," Vijay told IANS.

The film also stars Bobby Simhaa in a negative role.

Vijay says both of them play characters with negative shades.

"I play his villain and he plays mine. This is what makes our characters special. Bobby is not the stereotypical villain. We were supposed to work on a similar project a long time ago. When 'Karuppan' came my way, I insisted that we have Bobby on board," he said.

On teaming up with Bobby, Vijay said: "Our camaraderie will reflect on the screen. We are best friends and there have been occasions where he has annoyed me. But we all have best friends who annoy us, don't we?"

On the career front, Vijay is busy with nearly half a dozen projects. His other Tamil films include "96", "Aneethi Kathaigal", "Junga" and "Oru Nalla Naal Paathu Solren".