Sakhavu's Nivin Pauly has miles to travel yet

He is Mollywood's man with the Midas touch. His conversion of 50 days into 100 for any film at the box office is an envious track record to have. Despite his latest venture Sakhavu doing very well, Nivin Pauly isn't basking in the glory and knows he has miles to travel. With political drama Sakhavu, however, the superstar has turned over a new leaf in his career. He has grown as an actor.
If Pauly's previous films were testimony to the variety of age groups that he can portray with ease, this film, however, has set a new benchmark in his career. Pauly plays two different characters in three timelines - one as a college Communist leader, Krishna Kumar, and the other as Sakhavu Krishnan. His role as Krishnan sees him as a firebrand leader and also as a veteran, who is paralysed on one side. And playing the older character was very challenging for Pauly.
"Yes, this is my most challenging role till date. It was a tough character," said Pauly, who was in Abu Dhabi over the weekend to promote Sakhavu.
Elaborating on the preparations for the role, Pauly said: "There's a real life comrade in Kottayam named Krishnan, who suffered a stroke and is paralysed. I met him and got details about his struggle. There are many inspiring additions in the film from his life. He also used to come to shooting locations. I used to observe him and learned how a paralysed person goes around doing daily work. Director Sidhartha Siva also consulted a few doctors to know more about playing a paralysed character."
Talking about his exceptional run at the box office, Pauly said the success rate is because of all films having a strong script.
"I always look for scripts which everyone can relate to and have a storyline with depth."
a total package
As to why he said 'yes' to director Sidhartha, Pauly said he always wanted to play a comrade. "I wanted to act as a Communist leader. And when Sidhartha Siva narrated such a script, I took up the mantle."
Noting the points that he liked about the script, Pauly said: "A normal Communist film will see heavy focus on revolutionary ideology. However, this film shows the other side of a Communist leader. The movie is a journey through many layers of life - friends, family, work culture, and throws light on many shades of the character. The film travels through various ages of the character. It's nearly impossible to reprise such a role of a Communist character because the script covered almost everything happening in his life. I found all essentials elements of a character coming together in this particular script."
The film had a delayed release in the UAE, which the actor said was due to many films being taken by the distributors. "They will release only one film per week."
I have to become a saleable star: Nivin Pauly
Actor Prabhas had dedicated years of his life for Baahubali franchise, if the character demands, will Pauly do the same? "No, I am not at a stage to take such decisions. Maybe after a few years, I can think of doing something like this. First I have to become a saleable star. I have to consistently give successful films and sustain at the top level for long. It's only after reaching that stage, I can confidently think about dedicating years for a character." His film Premam was one of the highest grossing Malayalam movies and others have done reasonably well to safely bestow superstar status on him. However, the Aluva native has self-set career goals and is hungry to prove himself as an actor for masses and ruling classes. His upcoming movies are Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela, which he also happens to be producing, and his first Tamil film, Richie. He has put on weight for the bilingual Moothon and didn't want to be clicked for fear of revealing his look in the film.
Pauly on piracy
Pauly commented that the film industry might be losing its battle against piracy.
"It's not easy to break their network, which is big and growing. I don't think this menace can be stopped completely. We release films in over 150 screens in Kerala, outside state and overseas too. They just need one copy and once uploaded in social media sites, it goes viral. Pirated copy of Baahubali was available on the first day itself."
Do big budget films affect the release of a normal film? "Everyone would prefer watching a big budget film. Everyone wanted to watch Baahubali but other films did get affected. Ideal thing to do is when a big budget one is up for release, other small films should delay their release. It is a safe thing to do." The views came as he is also the producer for his next film.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com