Soubin’s Chillumkoodu step a hit

The assistant director- turned-actor is quite thrilled with the response he is receiving for his role as the Physical Education teacher in Premam. “I’m very happy that the audience received the PT sir with love. I mimicked the mannerisms of my teacher who taught me. It was a sincere effort by Alphonse Puthren and his team. I had enough freedom and space to act. Alphonse knows what he wants from an actor and will convey it properly,” says Soubin.

Talking about the chillumkoodu step in the film that the audience loves, Soubin says, “We were discussing many dance steps for that shot and this step came up and Alphonse agreed to it. It’s a very old and common step. Vinay Forrt and I and the camera turn around 360 degrees for the shot. We did it very carefully because we did not want anyone to be covered during the shot and wanted each person to be fully visible. This step and also a whistling scene were much appreciated. Of the many scenes I have in the film, my scenes with Vinay worked well. Vinay is a very good friend and I have known him from my AD days.”

Soubin worked as an assistant director for 14 years. “I was working as an AD for Faazil, Siddique, Rafi Mecartin, P. Sukumar, Santhosh Sivan, Rajeev Ravi and Amal Neerad. Though coming from a family with a film background (Soubin’s dad Babu Shahir is a production controller and a producer), I never expected that I would act in films. It happened just like that.”

Soubin always wanted to become a film director. “Yes. That is my aim and I am working on the script right now. It’s been 2 years since I have given up my AD job. I got busy with my acting assignments. So, when I have free time, I’ll work on my script.”

When quizzed whether his Ernakulam slang hinders his growth as an actor, Soubin says, “More than my slang, I think people like the way I talk. In my upcoming film Loham, I speak more Kochi slang than I did in Annayum Rasoolum.”

His upcoming films are Aashiq Abu’s Rima-Manju Warrier-starrer Rani Padmini, Martin Prakkat’s Dulquer Salmaan-starrer Charlie and Renjith’s Mohanlal-starrer Loham.