‘Pappachan Olivilanu’ actor Saiju Kurup (IANS interview) – Telangana Today

“Jai Mahendran” will debut on OTT platform Sony LIV on October 11, 2024.

Mumbai: Malayalam actor Saiju Kurup, who is best known for his commendable films like ‘Malikappuram’, ‘Janamaithri’ and many others, opened up about his upcoming web series debut ‘Jai Mahendran’.

In a conversation with IANS, Saiju spoke about his character in the upcoming series, the genres to be explored in the web series and more.

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You have always been a part of feature films and now you are debuting as a part of a web series. Did you feel a difference between the two mediums or was it the same for you?

Saiju said, “No, as actors we don’t see any difference because I have done short films, I have done films, I have worked on two episodes of a TV series. As actors we don’t really care because for us everything is the same. The only difference is that the budget is very low. If it’s a film, the budget is higher. If it is a web series the budget is higher, if it is a short film the budget is tight. So with this tight budget we can’t rent big cameras.”

“But if it is a web series or a film, we can rent the latest version of big cameras. So this is all for the technicians, but for us we are just actors, we only act in short films and here too. So for us everything is the same. But the good thing is that the web series is bigger because the budget is good and we get 3 to 3.5 hours of content. We can tell the story in such a short time,” he added.

Were there any challenges while playing the character Mahendran?

Saiju said, “Yes, because I don’t do homework for my characters. That’s why I never thought about doing homework and I don’t have that much time for it because I do back-to-back recordings. So I shot a film and two days later I went to Jai Mahendran’s location and started acting there. But I’m a director and a writer and an actor.”

“So I will do whatever he asks me to do. Okay, if you look at Jai Mahendran’s script, there are a lot of details in the script, for example: What is his mood in a particular scene? What was his previous scene like? So if a man comes up to me and says something, how will he react, or if it’s my dialogue, how will I repeat it? So they guide us, it makes an actor’s life very easy. I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone, but for me my life has been easy when the writers and directors tell me, and I don’t tell anyone how to do it, I watch them.”

“Whether it’s a director or a writer, when they explain the scene, I watch them at that time. What is their body language? How do I conduct the dialogue? Otherwise, what will happen is that if I start playing characters in every film, then you will see Saiju Kurup in every film. So how can I make Mahendran different?”

“That’s why I wanted to do Mahendran differently: If a writer is available on site, he can come and explain the scene. So he explained it to me, or when the director told me to explain the scene, he explained it to me. From this I get a lot of things that don’t belong to Saiju Kurup. If I had done it myself, I wouldn’t have recorded it. So that’s how I do it. So with Jai Mahendran and all the other films I have done, I did it with a very open mind without doing any work. For example, I went to the site and to get there you have to work, but I didn’t do any homework,” he said.

What did you have to unlearn for the web?

Saiju said, “There is nothing better than unlearning, because whatever I have learned is all good.” So if I had learned something bad, I would have had to unlearn it. But whatever I learned, whether I tried or learned unknowingly, those were all very good things and that would enhance my career and improve my acting skills that I have learned over the years. So I haven’t forgotten anything.”

How was your working experience with Suhasini Maniratnam?

Saiju said, “There was a lot of excitement when the producer immediately called me and told me that I had spoken to Suhasini Chechi. We call our sister Chechi, so I call her Chechi.” When Suhasini Chechi joined, I was very excited because in the late 80s I started watching films and at the same time I started watching TV. At that time, Suhasini Chechi was one of the top heroines in Malayalam and Tamil. When I watched Malayalam films, I always felt like she was my sister or my mother.”

“I used to feel this way. As we grew up watching her films, I was very excited to know that I would be sharing screen space with her and it was a very good experience. She is a very sober and very good sister…she also supported me a lot and yes, she did a good job too,” he said.

Aside from all the films you’ve done, which one stands out in your mind so far and why?

Saiju said, “This was the character in my first film. In the first half, I was negative while playing the hero in this film. In the second half, I played “Mayookham” which means Surya Kiran. In Sanskrit it is called Surya Kiran, so I played a positive character in the second half. I feel the need to find such a character in real life and because it was my debut film, it is very close to my heart.”

“So, the experience of this film, when I learned the acting of the film or the location, I learned about the filmmaking, the track, the boom, the crane, I learned all of that.” So you won’t have that experience because it’s over for the first time. That’s why I feel like this character is very close to my heart,” he said.

What types of roles or genres do you plan to explore online?

“I want to try every genre because right now in the Malayalam industry, I don’t have a particular image that this person is suitable for comedy, action or a serious role. I don’t have this picture. So the filmmakers and writers fit me into different genres. By God’s grace this is happening.”

Can you tell us about your upcoming film Anand Sreebala?

Saiju said, “Yes, I can tell you. There is a great filmmaker Vinayan Sir, his son Vishnu Vinay is directing the film. I had a film Malikappuram 1.5 years ago which was a huge blockbuster. The writer, Abhilash Pillai is also the writer of this film. I play a DYSP character, the deputy superintendent of police.”

“The protagonist is played by an actor named Arjun Ashokan. It’s a murder mystery, and you know that if you say anything about a murder mystery, the suspense will go away. That’s why I won’t say anything about it. It will be released very soon, the film is very well made, we are keeping our fingers crossed too. Let’s see.”

What made you say yes to the show Jai Mahendran?

He said: “First of all the attraction was Sony LIV because I think all Malaysians who have the platform, everyone follows it, in Kerala it is very popular, in South India it is everywhere and there we are.” Speaking of Malayalam web series , it’s everywhere, but if there’s content on Sony LIV, it’ll be good… there’s an atmosphere like this. So there is a film called Antakshari. If you haven’t seen it yet, definitely check it out. It’s a crime thriller, it’s a very good film… there’s a police officer who likes to play ‘Antakshari’, so that’s how the film goes. Apart from this, Sony LIV is the first web series and it is a big deal to star in the Sony LIV web series.”

“We are starring in the first web series on this platform, which is a big deal. Rahul Rijin Nair, the writer of the web series, and Srikanth Mohan. Rahul Rijin Nair is already a national and state award-winning director and his first directorial is Srikanth Mohan. So these two people are coming for this web series. I have already made a film with them. I think it was 2017 or 2018, so I already did it.”

“I have a lot of confidence in this team and the plot of this film, the plot of ‘Jai Mahendran’, the plot in one line, they had already told me about it, then comes the big exciting news that Sony is LIV. “I will streaming that. Wow! 75 percent of people were convinced and I already know this team. I worked with them. I’ve seen their other films and there was no reason why I didn’t tell them. There was no reason to reject them,” Saiju said.

What type of content do you like to watch in your free time?

Saiju said, “Basically, I don’t have any particular genre where I would watch a thriller film of that genre in my free time. But I watch an entertaining film, as if we can provide entertainment to the audience with different feelings. We can make them laugh, we can scare them. When you make a thriller film, they will feel the thrill and will be at the edge of their seats. You can entertain them this way. You can entertain them by making them cry, so ultimately we want to entertain every emotion. I don’t know how many times I have watched ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, I like such films.”

“Now I like films like ‘Baazigar’ or ‘Darr’, now I have seen ‘Mirzapur’, I have seen it many times. So there is no specific genre, but if we get entertainment, that’s fine. Now I saw “Animal”, I really liked it. Although there is a lot of violence, it is a movie, watch it as a movie. Why do you take it to heart? It’s a movie, it’s made for your entertainment, watch it and be entertained, otherwise you shouldn’t have done this or that. So it doesn’t matter,” concluded Saiju.

“Jai Mahendran” will debut on OTT platform Sony LIV on October 11, 2024. The series stars Saiju Kurup, Miya George, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rahul Riji Nair, Sidhartha Siva, Suresh Krishna and Maniyanpilla Raju.

The series was produced by First Print Studios and directed by Srikanth Mohan.