South Indian actor Biju Menon talks new film 'Thundu', nepotism, sabbatical, and re-invention

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The National Award-winning actor talks about the importance of re-invention and innovation in an industry that makes sensible cinema  Read the full story here:   See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km

Transcript

00:00I don't know if it's easy to survive, entry may be easy, but if you want to survive you have to show your mettle.

00:08If you don't have that, you can only do a few films.

00:12We have to update in each film and there will be changes according to the technology.

00:30He is one of the few actors who has just evolved with time.

00:34He has been in the industry for decades.

00:36Some of his movies, be it comedy in Velli Moonga or Ayyappanum Koshyam, he was in stellar form.

00:43Even if you are not familiar with Malayalam films, he is one actor you must watch out for.

00:48He has done some tremendous work.

00:50He is in Dubai right now for his latest movie.

00:52We will get to the conversation.

00:54Thank you so much for speaking to us.

00:56You need to tell us about Thundu.

00:58What should we know about it?

01:00What is the angle of the movie?

01:02It's got double meaning, I am told.

01:04Thundu has two meanings in Malayalam.

01:08We use the best meaning of it.

01:10Thundu means the copy of something.

01:14That is the meaning of Thundu.

01:18The content is the same.

01:20When someone has a problem in their life,

01:24when they need a gradation or a promotion,

01:26they write an exam.

01:28But when they are not in a mental state,

01:30they write it all down.

01:32If they don't stop,

01:34they ask for a piece of paper.

01:36That is the problem we face in this movie.

01:38It is connected to the next problem.

01:40All the problems are caused by a humorous touch.

01:44The emotional areas are treated in a humorous way.

01:48You are a policeman in this movie.

01:52One of the roles that you seem to be doing well.

01:56Either you are the angry young guy

01:58or you are the fun guy.

02:00What kind of a policeman are you?

02:02I am a police character in a police uniform.

02:06But it affects my personal life.

02:10I speak to the personal side.

02:12I can say that it is different from what I did before.

02:16Police characters are more serious.

02:20It is a humorous police side in this movie.

02:24My father is 70 years old.

02:26He wrote a law school exam when he was 9 years old.

02:30Now he is studying in a law college.

02:32In Cochin Law College.

02:34It is very popular.

02:36Class topper at 70 years.

02:38It is never too late to study.

02:42That is the beauty of this movie.

02:44There are things that you cannot do

02:46even at 70 or after retirement.

02:48As a banker you are doing it.

02:50This is before retirement.

02:52Before retiring from the police,

02:54the subordinates may have some egos.

02:58They may feel some insults.

03:00So,

03:02I feel that I need a promoted post.

03:06For that,

03:08I am ready to write an exam.

03:10If I don't write an exam, there will be a promotion.

03:12For that, I am ready to write an exam.

03:14It is not something that I can do at that time.

03:16Before retirement,

03:18I have to do this and that.

03:20I am a lighter character.

03:22I am a poor character.

03:24These are his problems.

03:28The way you choose your scripts.

03:30It is very fascinating.

03:32If you have a movie,

03:34I watch it just to see what is different about it.

03:36Is it because you have rejected it?

03:38Or do you have a process or a method to it?

03:42I am not trying to reject.

03:44I am just doing it.

03:46Viewers are a part of it.

03:48We have to give priority to the movies

03:50that are accepted by the viewers.

03:52Otherwise,

03:54the movie will not work out.

03:56So, there should be a priority for that.

03:58People should do the same for me.

04:00I should not do a cliché role.

04:02There should be a change in it.

04:04If we want to upgrade an artist,

04:06we should give priority to the stories

04:08that we can do.

04:10We can make mistakes.

04:12But, we should not be lazy.

04:14We should have different subjects.

04:16It is not for us.

04:18I do not have the brilliance

04:20to make a project there.

04:22But, I choose the projects

04:24that work out for me.

04:28When I look at your career trajectory,

04:30it is not like a movie with a star power.

04:32It is slow motion.

04:34I think you did it.

04:36Was that a deliberate move?

04:38To be an actor

04:40that appeals to everybody.

04:44You are a people's actor.

04:46Is that a deliberate move?

04:48It is not deliberate.

04:50I do not need a slow motion movie

04:52with 40 frames per second.

04:54It is more realistic.

04:56I communicate the characters

04:58that I have seen

05:00to the audience.

05:02That is how

05:04I opt for such movies.

05:06It is not planned.

05:08It is not an investigation.

05:10It is not a thriller.

05:12It is not an exaggerated performance.

05:14It is not a scene.

05:16It is very light.

05:18It is something that

05:20we have seen in our lives.

05:22Many people know

05:24the process of making a film.

05:26But, they have not seen

05:28the fun of the process.

05:30We want to use the fun.

05:32It is a big process.

05:34I have heard of copywriting.

05:36But, I have not seen

05:38such a variety.

05:40It is an art form.

05:42Yes, it is an art form.

05:46What was the brief of the director?

05:48Did he say anything like

05:50this is how I want this character

05:52to be?

05:56Or, did you go to the set

05:58and give the scene?

06:00No, it was not like that.

06:02When we started doing the lead role,

06:04we were more involved.

06:06We were involved from the beginning.

06:08That was the project.

06:10When I told this story to Riyazan,

06:12I was thinking of

06:14doing a humorous subject.

06:16Because, I too have

06:18serious roles.

06:20So, my friends and

06:22relatives started saying

06:24that they feel like seeing humor.

06:26That was the moment

06:28I told my story.

06:30I did not have to do the brief.

06:32I just told them to read the details.

06:34After that, I listened to the story

06:36for two hours.

06:38When I listened to the story,

06:40I enjoyed it a lot.

06:42It was a fun narrative.

06:44It was a humorous area.

06:48We do not have to do anything

06:50for the sake of humor.

06:52It is a realistic backdrop.

06:54Our problem is not only

06:56making people laugh.

06:58We do not have to do anything.

07:00We just have to behave and

07:02handle it well.

07:04Bollywood's Isingam,

07:06Chulbul Pandey,

07:08they are all

07:10good cops.

07:12You are not one of them.

07:14That is the biggest advantage

07:16of Kerala and Malayalam movies.

07:18You can do great stuff

07:20with ordinary roles.

07:22That is what you feel.

07:24Here, we have a budget limitation.

07:26For example,

07:28for Hindi and other languages,

07:30we have an acceptance limit.

07:32Only the people who are

07:34connected to Malayalam movies

07:36watch Malayalam movies.

07:38We do not get that reach

07:40when we watch Malayalam movies.

07:42When we think of a subject,

07:44we have a huge budget restriction.

07:46If we want to work on a grandiose

07:48movie, we cannot do it

07:50commercially.

07:52So, we have to

07:54think of a subject

07:56that is commercially

07:58viable.

08:00It is not good for anyone.

08:02It is a friendly movie.

08:04So, we have to think

08:06of a business as well.

08:08At least,

08:10we have to break it.

08:12It is a very budgeted movie.

08:14You cannot think of me.

08:16There is a limitation.

08:18If you go beyond the budget,

08:20you might lose it.

08:22So, I have to break the

08:24comfort zone.

08:26I have to think of something

08:28that is beneficial for the producer.

08:30I cannot think of a lighter

08:32police.

08:34You are a very serious

08:36person.

08:38When the cameras are on,

08:40the timing is perfect.

08:42Did you know that you had a comic

08:44bone in your body?

08:46You used to have a lot of muscle.

08:48That is because

08:50I used to watch a lot of serious movies.

08:52Investigation, Crime, etc.

08:54It was a genre that people

08:56used to watch.

08:58So, I automatically

09:00got into it.

09:02I was not looking for

09:04any other option.

09:06I was a typecast.

09:08I took a break from it

09:10and came out of it.

09:12We do not know

09:14how a movie is.

09:16We try to avoid it.

09:18We just have to behave

09:20in the stories that come now.

09:22I like it a lot.

09:24I do not know much about

09:26the police.

09:28I like to act in movies.

09:30I saw a family side of the police.

09:32My father was a police officer.

09:34He was a Kerala police officer.

09:36Yes, he was a Kerala police officer.

09:38So, I know.

09:40I know how my father

09:42used to walk and come back.

09:44It is handy and easy.

09:46I think you were a cop at some point.

09:48You may have drawn from your dad's

09:50experiences.

09:52You were the most overworked

09:54and underpaid person

09:56when it came to the police force

09:58and journalists.

10:00The pay is not great.

10:02That is the reality that you

10:04hope to say.

10:06It is not easy being a cop.

10:08There is a mental stress.

10:10There was not a particular

10:12time.

10:14There were a lot of trends.

10:16I could not go to a family function.

10:18I could not go to a movie

10:20that my wife wanted to see.

10:22I could not go shopping.

10:24I could not go to a wedding.

10:26There is a profession that

10:28is a hindrance to everything.

10:30There is a depression

10:32for a person who

10:34has been frustrated for a long time.

10:36He does not react to

10:38a mechanical thing.

10:40He is a character like that.

10:42He is a character like that.

10:44He is a character like that.

10:46He is a character like that.

10:48He does not have a particular

10:50ambition.

10:52He is a character that

10:54he wants to be.

10:56I like that.

10:58There are a lot of people

11:00in this phase.

11:02They have not done anything

11:04at that time.

11:06They do not have an identity.

11:08Even the ordinary people

11:10do not have an identity.

11:12They want a conflict.

11:14They do not want an ordinary life.

11:16It has to be something

11:18apart from that.

11:20There is a big area

11:22for Bollywood films.

11:24People from all categories

11:26should be seen.

11:28If they are satisfied,

11:30they should be shown on that canvas.

11:32We have a lot of literacy here.

11:34People are sensible.

11:36They can criticize anything.

11:38It is a freedom industry.

11:40We are conscious.

11:42We do not want to be

11:44a troll.

11:46We want to do our best.

11:48We want to do our best.

11:50We want to do our best.

11:52There will be some stops.

11:54There will be some commitments.

11:56We want to do our best.

11:58We want to get the audience to like it.

12:02This is an anti-Nepal baby.

12:04You do not have a famous father.

12:06You do not have a bollster.

12:08You do everything yourself.

12:20It is not easy to survive.

12:22The entry may be easy.

12:24If you have to survive,

12:26you have to show your mettle.

12:28If this is not there,

12:30we have to act a little.

12:32We have to update the technology

12:34In the past, acting was not a thing. Now, we have changed.

12:37Now, we have to deliver the dialogues.

12:40Because we have to change it in Cannes when we shoot a film.

12:44If we make a mistake, we have to deliver the dialogues.

12:49Now, when we digitalize, we have a lot of time and resources.

12:54Now, acting has improved.

12:56Now, I am comfortable with digital.

13:00In the past, I didn't have that.

13:01But, you are not a nepo baby. That's the whole point.

13:04In the beginning, you didn't have any help. Are you proud of yourself?

13:07I can't say that I didn't have any help.

13:10Who helped you?

13:11My father used to do drama in Police Lines.

13:13My father acted in a lot of movies.

13:16I am inspired by my father.

13:18My father's connections.

13:20Maybe, after I came to the film industry,

13:22or after I came to the serial industry,

13:24they might have thought about my connections.

13:26In the beginning, I got a lot of support.

13:29Maybe, it's because of my father's connections.

13:31I can't say that I am self-made.

13:33After I came, I tried a lot to be updated and improve.

13:36That is self.

13:37Well done. Thank you for entertaining us.

13:40We watched a lot of movies and laughed a lot.

13:41So, it's very good. Thank you so much.

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