If Neeraj Madhav is scaling new heights, he has had to do it the hard way. Beginning with small roles in cinema, he moved on to essay more significant characters before hitting the big time towards the end of last year in the Amazon Prime series The Family Man , directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D K.
He acted in the lead in Anand Menon’s Gauthamante Radham, which was released last week. Neeraj has some exciting projects to look forward to, including a high-profile one in Bollywood. Excerpts from an interview with him...
How would you trace your career as an actor...
There have been times when things have happened out of the blue in my career and times when I have had to push myself.
I always wanted to be an actor but lacked the confidence. It was after Drishyam that people started identifying me as an actor. For the next two years, I had a smooth ride although I was known as a comedian.
When things started turning stale, I began looking for solid roles. Oozham and Oru Mexican Aparatha gave me what I was looking for then. After that, I decided to try for a lead role, which I did in Paipin Chuvattile Pranayam.
The offer for The Family Man came out of the blue and it has proved to be a real game changer.
Has the experience in The Family Man changed you as an actor?
The directors, Raj and DK, chose me after watching my movies. They believe in the collaborative process of filmmaking and gave me a lot of freedom while shooting for The Family Man , which was refreshing. They were all ears to my suggestions. They did not tell me what to do but only what not to do.
Also, working with Manoj Bajpayee was a wonderful learning experience. He comes up with something new each time the crew goes for a fresh take.
In The Family Man , your character is unlike what you had done before. How did you prepare for the part?
Actors in Bollywood do a lot of homework on the characters they play. I am not used to doing such preparations, unless a physical transformation is needed.
Usually, we observe people around us for references. However, as I was playing a terrorist in The Family Man, there were no such opportunities. The directors approached the characters in a humane way, by entering their minds and analysing why they do what they do. I approached the role scene by scene, adding the emotions that suited the character at that point.
Are you happy with the way your career has evolved?
I feel there should be a personal growth as an actor or else the job becomes mundane. You can do a couple of roles for fun or for money but then you need to start looking for roles with substance. I have always wanted to act in Tamil movies, as I feel my dancing skills can be highlighted there. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be entering the Hindi film industry. When Amitabh Bachchan recognised me during an event, I was on cloud nine.
And you played the lead in Gauthamante Radham and Paipin Chuvattile Pranayam ?
Be it the lead role or a small role, the effort one puts in is the same. However, when playing the lead, you have to shoulder more responsibility, like ensuring the satellite revenue, the opening collection...
Since I was on a hiatus from the Malayalam industry while shooting for The Family Man, I was sceptical while doing Gauthamante Radham . I invested some quality time into this project and called Basil Joseph to become the creative director. In between, The Family Man came out and was a hit, which was reassuring.
Gauthamante Radham is about the emotions one feels towards one’s first vehicle, which, I feel, is something most of us can relate to.
There are reports that you had to turn down Nitesh Tiwari’s Chhichhore .
I did an audition for Chhichhore . I met Nitesh and he wanted me to play the character Sexa. But they needed bulk dates, which I couldn’t commit to as I was busy with The Family Man.
You wrote Lavakusha (2017). Do you have plans to write more scripts?
Of course. I wrote Lavakusha as a spy comedy in the lines of films such as 21 Jump Street, which had a mix of humour and action. However, while I had targeted the film for a young audience, the movie was made in a different way, more focused on families and kids.
As an excellent dancer, why haven’t you done more choreography for film songs?
Dance comes easily to me and I enjoy it. I had to do the choreography for ‘Enne Thallendammaava’ (in Oru Vadakkan Selfie ) as the situation was such that we had to either shoot it on our own or break the schedule. While shooting the song was a thrilling experience, choreography was not a part of my plan.
Do you have any Bollywood dreams?
Actually, I am all set to sign a Bollywood movie with a top banner. However, I can’t reveal any more details now. I am doing Rajeeshlal Vamsha’s Ka .
The Adi Kapyare Koottamani team is coming back with Paathira Kurbana. Then I am playing the lead in my brother Navneeth Madhav’s directorial debut, Ennile Villain, which I am co-writing as well.
