The team of Bethelehem Kudumba Unit is still basking in the movie’s success and taking in all the love showered on them by the audience across the globe. Though this Girish AD film was made as a Malayalam film at heart, its emotions found strong resonance with viewers from various regions in India and abroad. As Nivin Pauly chats with NDTV about this film he says that he doesn’t look at ‘pan-Indian’ cinema while making a film – he feels a film should connect organically with audiences across regions.
The Malayalam film industry has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade, with OTT platforms taking Malayalam cinema to audiences well beyond Kerala. But Nivin says he is not currently choosing scripts specifically with a pan-Indian or non-Malayali audience in mind.
“Currently, I’m focusing only on the Malayali audience and Malayalam films. A film made in any language is a film, right? Make and be a part of that film and make it honestly. If you write it really well, I think it will resonate with all audiences. I have been approached for Telugu and Hindi films and I’m open to them. If there are good scripts and good characters that come from another language, I would love to explore them,” he stresses.
In his career, he has worked across genres which is simply part of an actor’s evolution and in this journey, he has seen both success and failure.
“Every actor will have a journey, right? I think this is my journey. In the initial days, I did the boy-next-door films, then I did the serious roles, and right now I’m planning to do more entertainment roles. It’s a pendulum. Success and failure will make you more mature in terms of how we see our career and films,” he adds.
But has he regretted doing any film?
“Those films were the right choices during that time, but later we’ll regret it right? But again, it’s all part of the journey. Today, BKU is a blockbuster but we don’t know what is going to happen with my next film. Cinema is a journey.”
For an established star, finding the right script can be as challenging as making an entry into cinema in the first place. “Today, I think getting a good script is a challenge. We listen to many stories in a day or we read many synopses. But when it comes as a full written script which is appealing, it’s a little tough,” says Nivin who states that the story is the main factor that makes him sign a film. “The story should connect initially. Then the script.”
With Malayalam cinema’s biggest stars, Mammootty and Mohanlal, having sustained careers spanning several decades, when you ask Nivin whether he hopes to continue working well into his 60s and 70s, he laughs. “Oh, no idea! The only thing I can expect is that I’ll get good films and I’ll be able to entertain the audience.
That’s the only thing we can plan, nothing else. The remaining is God’s blessing,” he says with humility. “We are getting an opportunity to entertain the audience, right? Not everybody will get an opportunity to become an actor, even though there are many people want to be an actor. Becoming an actor itself is difficult. My motivation is to entertain the audience to my best ability.”
Nivin Pauly has largely kept his family life away from the spotlight, even though he occasionally opens up about his wife and children in interviews. Away from cinema, the Action Hero Biju star says he is happiest at home with his children. “I love to be at home whenever there is no shoot. I love spending time with my kids,” he says happily. Onam and Christmas are his favourite festivals, largely because of the opportunity it gives the family to spend time together. “It’s vacation time for kids and as a family, we travel during this time,” he says. And what’s his favourite food? “Biriyani”, he smiles.
He has a Tamil movie coming up with director Ram titled Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai which he describes as a layered film with several characters and interconnected stories. “This is releasing on October 1 and it has come out well. Soori has done really well in the film, Anjali also. It’s a proper Ram film,” he says.
As for the Nashid Famy film with Rukmini Vasanth, Nivin calls it a loud rom-com as compared to BKU which was subtle. For an actor who moved away from the romantic-comedy space after Premam, Malayalam star Nivin Pauly is back in his element consciously returning to entertaining films that will regale the entire family.
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