more-in Fahadh Faasil was almost written off as an actor after his debut. He made a comeback after seven years and redefined the traditional concepts of acting in Malayalam cinema with some stellar performances. Last year, he came up with a National Award-winning performance as a thief in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. His new release, Amal Neerad’s Varathan, reaches theatres today. Fahadh will next be seen in Sathyan Anthikkad’s Njaan Prakashan, Anwar Rasheed’s Trance, Vivek Thomas’ untitled film and Madhu C Narayanan’s Kumbalangi Nights. The actor is excited about Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s [Aaranya Kaandam-fame] forthcoming Tamil film, in which he teams up with Vijay Sethupathi, Mysskin, Samantha and Ramya Krishnan. In an exclusive interview, Fahadh talks about his movies, why he prefers to stay away from the limelight and what keeps him going as a performer. You are perceived as an unconventional actor, which has reflected in the movies you have chosen. Was it a deliberate decision to be so? As a performer there is no plan as such when I choose a film. I just need to be excited about the idea of making that film. I don’t think about whether it is going to be viable or if it will help my career. My only intention is to be a part of stories that I haven’t told already. Fahadh Faasil and Aishwariya Lekshmi in a still from Varathan | Photo Credit: Special arrangement How did you come out of the image of a cosmopolitan youth? The films I did and, to a great extent, the directors and the writers that I collaborated with helped me. I got out of the so-called image after movies such as Diamond Necklace, 22 Female Kottayam, Chappa Kurishu and Annayum Rasoolum. Of course, such labelling can happen again. I don’t have a control over it. The effort is to do something that I enjoy. Does the pressure of box-office affect you? Of course, my films have to run. For me, it’s a cycle. The energy for Varathan is from Carbon. The energy for Carbon was from Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. So when things go wrong somewhere, I get affected. I go into some kind of darkness. It’s scary, so I don’t think about it. Fahadh Faasil and Aishwariya Lekshmi in a still from Varathan | Photo Credit: Special arrangement What excited you about Varathan? Varathan means ‘an outsider’. Someone who is born and brought up here becomes an outsider after he goes away from his home. It has happened to me as well. When I came back after going to the United States to pursue my studies, things around me had changed. In Njaan Prakashan, you are teaming up with Sathyan Anthikkad and Sreenivasan... It has a universal theme. You must have met a Prakashan in your lifetime as well. One morning, he realises his name is not working and through a gazette notification he changes it to P R Akash. In a way, it’s a guy’s journey from being a nobody to somebody. Why did you opt out of Mani Ratnam’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam? Meeting Mani Ratnam at Madras Talkies was overwhelming. But the films I had already committed to were getting delayed. If I am doing a film with him, I had to give enough time for it. When I told him about my situation, he understood that my request was genuine. Fahadh Faasil and Aishwariya Lekshmi in a still from Varathan | Photo Credit: Speciala arrangement Your characters are real, mostly flawed. Is it a conscious decision? I am bothered about the stories that I am narrating. I don’t believe in the concepts that you have to be there in every scene or you have to be introduced in a particular way. I might be the part of the story somewhere. I may not be there in the second half. Why have you never tried to create an image off the screen for yourself unlike your peers? People know me through my characters. I don’t think they have any idea about the individual that I am. They know I am a director’s son and I am married to an actress. The less people know about you the more you understand how beautiful life is. It’s good when you exist only on screen. I don’t want them to take me home. I love to have my privacy. Your wife, Nazriya, made a comeback recently with Koode. What did you feel about her acting? I liked her performance in Koode. It’s not the real Nazriya that you see on screen and, for me, that process was really exciting. But then we rarely discuss movies when we are together. Moreover, I don’t think she is my fan at all (laughs). She liked me in Annayum Rasoolum and Dileesh Pothen’s two movies. How do you prepare for a character, like Prasad, the thief in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum? It has been the toughest character till date. I had never been to a police station before we started the shoot. I am a good listener and did interact with many policemen on the sets. As an actor, you create a character from your understanding of what you have heard and your observations. Eventually every film is an extension of the images that I have seen or what I have heard or read somewhere. Do you take your characters home? No. I don’t want anything to affect the individual that I am. Rarely do I read the scenes for the next day. I prefer not to go to the sets prepared. Mostly, I am completely blank when I go for the shooting. Has the Malayali audience changed over the years? The language of cinema is changing, and so is the way people appreciate films. It’s happening worldwide. Let me explain. In the recent past, two films that I wish I could be a part of are Sudani from Nigeria and Aruvi. It is time actors started looking at the characters and nothing else. When you are talking about human emotions, stardom doesn’t matter. I don’t know if anyone else would have invested money in a film like Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum. And Aashiq Abu wasn’t bothered about the profit when he produced Maheshinte Prathikaram. These films eventually did good business. So the audience is changing and we are just catering to their tastes.

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