'My growth as an actor has been slow but definitely steady'

Onam is Kerala’s biggest festival and a string of new films is released around this time. This year, we will see at least six releases during the festival.

One of them is Ezhamathe Varavu, directed by veteran Hariharan and scripted by Jnanpith Award winner M T Vasudevan Nair.

The two have created classics in Malayalam cinema such as Vadakkan Veera Gadha, Parassi Raja and many more.

Indrajith, the lead actor of Ezhamathe Varavu, shares his experience of working with the legendary duo, his career of more than a decade, and what Onam holds for him this year.

Your film Ezhamathe Varavu is the most anticipated film of the Onam season. It’s the first time in your decade-long career that you have a film during Onam. Are you nervous?

Though I have played the lead in quite a number of movies, I would rate Ezhamathe Varavu as the biggest of them all.

Whatever the season, a movie from the legendary MT/Hariharan combo is bound to create expectations among the public.

For any Malayalam actor it’s a dream come true to work with them. I feel blessed and lucky to have been a part of this project. 

How was the experience? Did you learn anything new about acting or filmmaking?

Working with the MT/Hariharan combo was like being in a new school for me. MT Sir is very specific about how his characters should look, walk and talk.

Haran Sir is a fantastic actor himself and so I just needed to do what he showed and explained to me.

Rendering MT Sir's lines was challenging. I found it tough in the beginning but later synced in.

Lovers of the language will find the dialogues in Ezhamathe Varavu refreshingly different from other movies they have seen.

Working with the legends has brought a whole new Indrajith on screen.

What is special about the film, apart from the team, that will hook a viewer who just comes to see the film?

All MT/Hariharan movies have set sky-high standards. This is no different. It’s a totally new plot which has a theme that has never been tried and tested before.

The story is set in the backdrop of a forest and speaks about how necessary it is for man to blend in with nature. The forest is like a living character in the movie. Today, the balance between man and nature has gone haywire, but you never know how harsh it can be when nature reacts in its own way.

This is narrated through a myth in the film about the awakening of a beast in the woods once every seven years when it kills seven people. It returns after the next seven years (which is why the movie is titled Ezhamathe Varavu).

Whether the beast is real or imaginary, whether it is an animal or something else, whether it has a reason to do all this, is what the film reveals.

Compared to other New Gen actors you seem to be less aggressive and more laidback as far as your career is concerned.

I wouldn't admit to the term 'laidback'. All any actor can do is work hard and wait for good movies and characters to come his way.

I can proudly say that all through the 12 years of my career, I have done that and have been able to reach audiences through varied challenging roles every now and then.

What happens from there is unknown. Uncertainty travels with every actor. You need not be vulnerable to it, but you definitely need to respect it.

My growth as an actor has been slow but definitely steady, and is still on!

Unlike other actors of my generation, I started off as a villain, transformed myself in character roles followed by comic outings and 12 years down the line, here I am playing a dream lead with the legends. What more can I ask for?!

What are your plans for Onam this year?

This Onam is definitely big for the family. Professionally, Ezhamathe Varavu is releasing and on the personal front, we are setting up a new business.

My wife Poornima is opening an exclusive designer boutique named Pranaah, in Kochi, that will start functioning from the 15th. She has a talent for designing and we thought it’s high time we did something about it.

Post Thiruvonam, I am heading to Kenya for my new movie titled Naku Penta Naku Taka. So all is well and there is a very exciting Onam in the offing.