'The audience's ability to connect with the character is what truly matters.'
'For example, in my previous film Kanakam Kamini Kalaham, I played a husband with deep-seated feelings of inferiority.'
'I would take up any role that offers me the scope to perform.'
Malayalam superstar Nivin Pauly is on a roll.
The actor is seen as a seething bundle of rage called Moidu in his latest film, Thuramukham, an epic drama that arrived on OTT recently.
Moidu is a daily wage-earner on the harbor, where workers protest against the chappa (token) labour allocation system practiced in the 1940s and 50s in Cochin.
He tells Subhash K Jha, "Thuramukham is a film set in two time periods, across two generations. Rajeev Ravi’s unique vision and his experience as a cinematographer have made the film visually stunning and emotionally resonant."
As a producer, how did you manage to make such a lavish film without compromising on the costs?
Thuramukham had a team of producers, so the equation was different.
Each of us took charge of different areas.
As a film based on true events, it required to meet certain criteria.
As producers, we made sure the film got everything it required to do justice to history.
You sport a different look in every film. How much do the externalities, including the physical appearance, matter to you as an actor?
Creating a convincing character for a role requires more than simply imitating a character.
The goal is to embody a fully developed, three-dimensional character.
Actors often portray characters that are vastly different from their own personalities.
Like real people, fictional characters also have unique personalities, hobbies, obsessions, weaknesses, and other traits.
The character's backstory is usually created by the writer.
As actors, we bring the character to life by following that path.
Although I can add my own creative input to the process, my contribution is small and merely enhances the character's believability for the viewers.
Sometimes, it may be small mannerisms that I add or sometimes it may be a different-looking hairstyle as you mentioned.
Your character Moidu is not a particularly likeable character. How important is it at this stage of your career to play empathetic characters?
The most important factor in deciding whether to take on a role is how compelling the character is to me.
Ultimately, the audience's ability to connect with the character is what truly matters.
For example, in my previous film Kanakam Kamini Kalaham, I played a husband with deep-seated feelings of inferiority.
I would take up any role that offers me the scope to perform.
Rajeev Ravi and you have worked together for the first time. How do you rate him as compared with your other directors?
Every director has his own style. It would be unfair to compare any two directors.
Thuramukham is a film set in two time periods, across two generations.
Rajeev Ravi’s unique vision and his experience as a cinematographer have made the film visually stunning and emotionally resonant.
The use of colours, lighting, camera angles all contribute to the unique visual language of the film.
