The National Award-winning actor talks about the importance of re-invention and innovation in an industry that makes sensible cinema
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00:00I don't know if it's easy to survive, entry may be easy, but if you want to survive you have to show your mettle.
00:08If you don't have that, you can only do a few films.
00:12We have to update in each film and there will be changes according to the technology.
00:30He is one of the few actors who has just evolved with time.
00:34He has been in the industry for decades.
00:36Some of his movies, be it comedy in Velli Moonga or Ayyappanum Koshyam, he was in stellar form.
00:43Even if you are not familiar with Malayalam films, he is one actor you must watch out for.
00:48He has done some tremendous work.
00:50He is in Dubai right now for his latest movie.
00:52We will get to the conversation.
00:54Thank you so much for speaking to us.
00:56You need to tell us about Thundu.
00:58What should we know about it?
01:00What is the angle of the movie?
01:02It's got double meaning, I am told.
01:04Thundu has two meanings in Malayalam.
01:08We use the best meaning of it.
01:10Thundu means the copy of something.
01:14That is the meaning of Thundu.
01:18The content is the same.
01:20When someone has a problem in their life,
01:24when they need a gradation or a promotion,
01:26they write an exam.
01:28But when they are not in a mental state,
01:30they write it all down.
01:32If they don't stop,
01:34they ask for a piece of paper.
01:36That is the problem we face in this movie.
01:38It is connected to the next problem.
01:40All the problems are caused by a humorous touch.
01:44The emotional areas are treated in a humorous way.
01:48You are a policeman in this movie.
01:52One of the roles that you seem to be doing well.
01:56Either you are the angry young guy
01:58or you are the fun guy.
02:00What kind of a policeman are you?
02:02I am a police character in a police uniform.
02:06But it affects my personal life.
02:10I speak to the personal side.
02:12I can say that it is different from what I did before.
02:16Police characters are more serious.
02:20It is a humorous police side in this movie.
02:24My father is 70 years old.
02:26He wrote a law school exam when he was 9 years old.
02:30Now he is studying in a law college.
02:32In Cochin Law College.
02:34It is very popular.
02:36Class topper at 70 years.
02:38It is never too late to study.
02:42That is the beauty of this movie.
02:44There are things that you cannot do
02:46even at 70 or after retirement.
02:48As a banker you are doing it.
02:50This is before retirement.
02:52Before retiring from the police,
02:54the subordinates may have some egos.
02:58They may feel some insults.
03:00So,
03:02I feel that I need a promoted post.
03:06For that,
03:08I am ready to write an exam.
03:10If I don't write an exam, there will be a promotion.
03:12For that, I am ready to write an exam.
03:14It is not something that I can do at that time.
03:16Before retirement,
03:18I have to do this and that.
03:20I am a lighter character.
03:22I am a poor character.
03:24These are his problems.
03:28The way you choose your scripts.
03:30It is very fascinating.
03:32If you have a movie,
03:34I watch it just to see what is different about it.
03:36Is it because you have rejected it?
03:38Or do you have a process or a method to it?
03:42I am not trying to reject.
03:44I am just doing it.
03:46Viewers are a part of it.
03:48We have to give priority to the movies
03:50that are accepted by the viewers.
03:52Otherwise,
03:54the movie will not work out.
03:56So, there should be a priority for that.
03:58People should do the same for me.
04:00I should not do a cliché role.
04:02There should be a change in it.
04:04If we want to upgrade an artist,
04:06we should give priority to the stories
04:08that we can do.
04:10We can make mistakes.
04:12But, we should not be lazy.
04:14We should have different subjects.
04:16It is not for us.
04:18I do not have the brilliance
04:20to make a project there.
04:22But, I choose the projects
04:24that work out for me.
04:28When I look at your career trajectory,
04:30it is not like a movie with a star power.
04:32It is slow motion.
04:34I think you did it.
04:36Was that a deliberate move?
04:38To be an actor
04:40that appeals to everybody.
04:44You are a people's actor.
04:46Is that a deliberate move?
04:48It is not deliberate.
04:50I do not need a slow motion movie
04:52with 40 frames per second.
04:54It is more realistic.
04:56I communicate the characters
04:58that I have seen
05:00to the audience.
05:02That is how
05:04I opt for such movies.
05:06It is not planned.
05:08It is not an investigation.
05:10It is not a thriller.
05:12It is not an exaggerated performance.
05:14It is not a scene.
05:16It is very light.
05:18It is something that
05:20we have seen in our lives.
05:22Many people know
05:24the process of making a film.
05:26But, they have not seen
05:28the fun of the process.
05:30We want to use the fun.
05:32It is a big process.
05:34I have heard of copywriting.
05:36But, I have not seen
05:38such a variety.
05:40It is an art form.
05:42Yes, it is an art form.
05:46What was the brief of the director?
05:48Did he say anything like
05:50this is how I want this character
05:52to be?
05:56Or, did you go to the set
05:58and give the scene?
06:00No, it was not like that.
06:02When we started doing the lead role,
06:04we were more involved.
06:06We were involved from the beginning.
06:08That was the project.
06:10When I told this story to Riyazan,
06:12I was thinking of
06:14doing a humorous subject.
06:16Because, I too have
06:18serious roles.
06:20So, my friends and
06:22relatives started saying
06:24that they feel like seeing humor.
06:26That was the moment
06:28I told my story.
06:30I did not have to do the brief.
06:32I just told them to read the details.
06:34After that, I listened to the story
06:36for two hours.
06:38When I listened to the story,
06:40I enjoyed it a lot.
06:42It was a fun narrative.
06:44It was a humorous area.
06:48We do not have to do anything
06:50for the sake of humor.
06:52It is a realistic backdrop.
06:54Our problem is not only
06:56making people laugh.
06:58We do not have to do anything.
07:00We just have to behave and
07:02handle it well.
07:04Bollywood's Isingam,
07:06Chulbul Pandey,
07:08they are all
07:10good cops.
07:12You are not one of them.
07:14That is the biggest advantage
07:16of Kerala and Malayalam movies.
07:18You can do great stuff
07:20with ordinary roles.
07:22That is what you feel.
07:24Here, we have a budget limitation.
07:26For example,
07:28for Hindi and other languages,
07:30we have an acceptance limit.
07:32Only the people who are
07:34connected to Malayalam movies
07:36watch Malayalam movies.
07:38We do not get that reach
07:40when we watch Malayalam movies.
07:42When we think of a subject,
07:44we have a huge budget restriction.
07:46If we want to work on a grandiose
07:48movie, we cannot do it
07:50commercially.
07:52So, we have to
07:54think of a subject
07:56that is commercially
07:58viable.
08:00It is not good for anyone.
08:02It is a friendly movie.
08:04So, we have to think
08:06of a business as well.
08:08At least,
08:10we have to break it.
08:12It is a very budgeted movie.
08:14You cannot think of me.
08:16There is a limitation.
08:18If you go beyond the budget,
08:20you might lose it.
08:22So, I have to break the
08:24comfort zone.
08:26I have to think of something
08:28that is beneficial for the producer.
08:30I cannot think of a lighter
08:32police.
08:34You are a very serious
08:36person.
08:38When the cameras are on,
08:40the timing is perfect.
08:42Did you know that you had a comic
08:44bone in your body?
08:46You used to have a lot of muscle.
08:48That is because
08:50I used to watch a lot of serious movies.
08:52Investigation, Crime, etc.
08:54It was a genre that people
08:56used to watch.
08:58So, I automatically
09:00got into it.
09:02I was not looking for
09:04any other option.
09:06I was a typecast.
09:08I took a break from it
09:10and came out of it.
09:12We do not know
09:14how a movie is.
09:16We try to avoid it.
09:18We just have to behave
09:20in the stories that come now.
09:22I like it a lot.
09:24I do not know much about
09:26the police.
09:28I like to act in movies.
09:30I saw a family side of the police.
09:32My father was a police officer.
09:34He was a Kerala police officer.
09:36Yes, he was a Kerala police officer.
09:38So, I know.
09:40I know how my father
09:42used to walk and come back.
09:44It is handy and easy.
09:46I think you were a cop at some point.
09:48You may have drawn from your dad's
09:50experiences.
09:52You were the most overworked
09:54and underpaid person
09:56when it came to the police force
09:58and journalists.
10:00The pay is not great.
10:02That is the reality that you
10:04hope to say.
10:06It is not easy being a cop.
10:08There is a mental stress.
10:10There was not a particular
10:12time.
10:14There were a lot of trends.
10:16I could not go to a family function.
10:18I could not go to a movie
10:20that my wife wanted to see.
10:22I could not go shopping.
10:24I could not go to a wedding.
10:26There is a profession that
10:28is a hindrance to everything.
10:30There is a depression
10:32for a person who
10:34has been frustrated for a long time.
10:36He does not react to
10:38a mechanical thing.
10:40He is a character like that.
10:42He is a character like that.
10:44He is a character like that.
10:46He is a character like that.
10:48He does not have a particular
10:50ambition.
10:52He is a character that
10:54he wants to be.
10:56I like that.
10:58There are a lot of people
11:00in this phase.
11:02They have not done anything
11:04at that time.
11:06They do not have an identity.
11:08Even the ordinary people
11:10do not have an identity.
11:12They want a conflict.
11:14They do not want an ordinary life.
11:16It has to be something
11:18apart from that.
11:20There is a big area
11:22for Bollywood films.
11:24People from all categories
11:26should be seen.
11:28If they are satisfied,
11:30they should be shown on that canvas.
11:32We have a lot of literacy here.
11:34People are sensible.
11:36They can criticize anything.
11:38It is a freedom industry.
11:40We are conscious.
11:42We do not want to be
11:44a troll.
11:46We want to do our best.
11:48We want to do our best.
11:50We want to do our best.
11:52There will be some stops.
11:54There will be some commitments.
11:56We want to do our best.
11:58We want to get the audience to like it.
12:02This is an anti-Nepal baby.
12:04You do not have a famous father.
12:06You do not have a bollster.
12:08You do everything yourself.
12:20It is not easy to survive.
12:22The entry may be easy.
12:24If you have to survive,
12:26you have to show your mettle.
12:28If this is not there,
12:30we have to act a little.
12:32We have to update the technology
12:34In the past, acting was not a thing. Now, we have changed.
12:37Now, we have to deliver the dialogues.
12:40Because we have to change it in Cannes when we shoot a film.
12:44If we make a mistake, we have to deliver the dialogues.
12:49Now, when we digitalize, we have a lot of time and resources.
12:54Now, acting has improved.
12:56Now, I am comfortable with digital.
13:00In the past, I didn't have that.
13:01But, you are not a nepo baby. That's the whole point.
13:04In the beginning, you didn't have any help. Are you proud of yourself?
13:07I can't say that I didn't have any help.
13:10Who helped you?
13:11My father used to do drama in Police Lines.
13:13My father acted in a lot of movies.
13:16I am inspired by my father.
13:18My father's connections.
13:20Maybe, after I came to the film industry,
13:22or after I came to the serial industry,
13:24they might have thought about my connections.
13:26In the beginning, I got a lot of support.
13:29Maybe, it's because of my father's connections.
13:31I can't say that I am self-made.
13:33After I came, I tried a lot to be updated and improve.
13:36That is self.
13:37Well done. Thank you for entertaining us.
13:40We watched a lot of movies and laughed a lot.
13:41So, it's very good. Thank you so much.