‘Veeraputhran’ brings to life a forgotten hero of our freedom struggle. And through the movie a promising hero who has been absent from the Malayalam film industry for the last two years, too, is all set for a comeback. Narain, an actor who has never had those big moments of stardom in spite of being a bundle of talent, admits he has high hopes about the movie. Speaking from the sets of the movie which is based on the life and times of Muhammed Abdurahman Sahib, one among our prominent freedom fighters and a secular politician, he opens up on the challenges posed by the role and his journey so far in the film industry.In and as ‘Veeraputhran’ It is my first role as a historical figure and as a politician. It has been very challenging and interesting. And, once I started doing the role, I felt a special kind of respect for the man. I have my own set of dos and don’ts when I do a film. In the film, my character has all those fine qualities which I look for in a role. A tough taskThe biggest challenge before all were that no footages were available about the period in which he lived. It covers the period from 1920 to 1945, ie till his death at a very young age. I read books about him. Also, we visited Rasheed who lives near Chavakkad, whose father used to work with Sahib. He has heard Sahib’s speeches as a young boy. We got inputs for Sahib’s character sketch, especially his style of walking, the expression on his face etc. We even caught up with the new generation members of those families with whom Sahib was associated. Director P T KunjumohammedUsually a director lets you improvise. But in this case that would be out of place because of the very nature of the person I am portraying. It was my director who helped me most. He is very clear about the plot and the character. Initially I was very much confused about mouthing lengthy dialogues, since I was playing a politician for the first time. An emotional journeyThe film covers his political life where he is a man of strong will and belief and his life with wife Kunjubeevathu (played by Raima Sen) with whom he is extremely romantic. To be frank, I went so much into the character that it has been like a emotional journey for me. He was more of a wounded hero and his only relief was his wife. But when she dies during delivery, he is shattered. Portraying his struggles, personal griefs and strong persona has been no cake-walk.The crewThe film has got an acclaimed crew, comprising National and State award winners- Pattanam Rasheed (make-up), Indrans Jayan (costume) and M J Radhakrishnan (cinematography). It has got a huge cast and names like Siddique, Kalabhavan Mani stand out. Besides, ITL Productions, which is producing the movie, is among those companies who want to make big and good cinema. Replacing Prithviraj Everybody knows that Prithviraj was the initial choice. When it didn’t work out, I was approached. And before I took it up, I had a chat with Raju (Prithviraj). I have never thought of myself as a replacement. Malayalam vs Tamil cinemaIt is the Tamil industry which has given me some great roles, be it ‘Chithiram Pesuthadi’ or ‘Anjaathe’ (both by Myshkin). I am much excited about working with Myshkin again, after a long gap. I will be playing villain, a first for me. It would be a big budget film, with Jeeva playing the hero. As of now, I have no plans to leave Tamil cinema. But, I know, at some point I will have to take a decision and choose just one of the two. And I have left that to time.A self-appraisalIt is after two years that I am doing a Malayalam movie (the last one was ‘Robinhood’) and I am keeping my fingers crossed. Honestly speaking, I have no complaints against the industry. But, I don’t like the situation I am in. I used to feel that I am a total misfit and because of that I ended up doing very few films, in both Tamil and Malayalam. In Malayalam, I found it difficult to adjust to certain things. After the release of ‘4 the People’, I even went back to making docu-fictions. I have had issues with the industry and even lost some big projects because I asked for the story. They didn’t expect a newcomer to do so! Luckily, there were some directors who understood my stand. However, I think I have grown up as a person and have slowly started getting adapted. I have learnt that one should never be too far away from the industry. If I do so, I would fade away during the course of time. I don’t want that to happen with me. I wish and hope to make it really big in my own way. It will take time, I know.AdviceI think, I always have that expression on my face which says I need some advice! Jokes apart, there are friends and colleagues who care for me and my career. People like Indran (Indrajith), Jayasurya and Raju (Prithviraj) often tell me that I should do more films.
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