One of the many surprises during the announcement of the Kerala State Film awards this week was the one for the best actor, which was shared by Nivin Pauly and Sudev Nair. Not many had noticed Sudev Nair, who made his debut in Malayalam with M.B. Padmakumar's My Life Partner , until then. Mumbai-based Sudev, who hails from Aluva, is a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). He was part of the Bollywood film Gulaab Gang and has a role in the forthcoming Malayalam film, Anarkali . Currently, he is acting in a web series titled Not Fit , which he has written and directed.
Sudev hopes that the best actor award in his debut film in Malayalam could help him in his quest for more meaningful roles. In an interview with The Hindu Friday Review , the engineer-turned-actor says why acting gives him a high. Excerpts:
You have got the best actor award for your first film in Malayalam. What is the feeling like?
(Smiles) It’s just sinking in. This is an honour that has been received by legends like Mammootty, Mohanlal and Nedumudi Venu previously. Those people are all on a different level and I can’t see myself in that spectrum. I can only rationalise it saying it so happened that everything just came together in my favour this time and that I am just lucky to receive this award.
When did you decide to pursue acting as a career?
I used to be active in extra-curricular activities during my student days and I was particularly interested in break dance. During my engineering days I realised that I was not cut out for such a career. I had got a campus placement but I decided to apply to FTII. I narrowly missed it during my first attempt but I got through in the second.
How did FTII help you in moulding as an actor?
The philosophy of FTII is to select students who are capable of learning rather than those who are already proven actors. It was a great boon for people like me. I would say, before FTII, I was just an engineer. My entire training and all my experience have only come through my stint there.
Was it a tough decision to select the role of a homosexual in My Life Partner ?
As an actor I have never thought of discriminating between any kind of roles. I am not insecure as an actor. Also, I don’t want to be burdened by looking only for the hero kind of roles or those characters where I have to maintain a great body. My only condition while accepting the character in My Life Partner was that homosexuality should not be a subject for sensationalism. But I found the script to be genuine and then I had no worries at all.
How did you prepare for the role?
The preparation was greatly simplified because the script was very organic. There was nothing really manipulative, there was no unnecessary drama. I didn’t find the need to find motivation from outside, as the emotions in the script were original.
Were you disappointed that My Life Partner had no takers, when it got released last year?
I felt disappointed because the film was not allowed to have a proper release. If the viewers had seen it and discarded it, I wouldn’t have been that affected. Instead it didn’t get a proper chance to be screened for the audience.
What are your plans?
My desire has always been to work in Malayalam. I have been told earlier by a few here that I look like a north Indian with green eyes. This award has come as an unexpected honour and I am delighted that the film fraternity here has accepted me finally. I feel that young filmmakers here are breaking the norms and experimenting with new formats of story telling, which is perhaps absent or seen less in other parts of the country. It is Malayalam where I want to be.
