I'm not a superstar: Nivin Pauly

If you say it is a transition period for Nivin Pauly, no one will disagree because it is evident that the actor is trying his best to come out of his romantic hero image. It was with Abrid Shine’s Action Hero Biju Nivin took a different path.

Now, for the first time in his career, the young super star is trying his hands in a family film with his friend-director Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Jacobinte Swargarajyam. And it is Nivin’s first movie with his guide Vineeth, post superstar status. However, Nivin doesn’t think he is a star or a superstar. “I am not a superstar. In fact, it is the term used by people when films become hits. I am not bothered about such a status,” he says.      
 

Nivin says that for Vineeth, he is not a star but a friend and colleague. “Though I was acting in a Vineeth film after a gap of four years, we both didn’t feel like there was such a gap. We are good friends who call and meet regularly. Amid that, we have acted together in Ohm Shanthi Oshana and Oru Vadakkan Selfie,” says Nivin, who appears as Jerry in Jacobinte Swargarajyam.

According to Nivin, this is the first role he gained upon request. “It was for the first time in my career I requested a director for a role. In fact, it was the story of Jacobinte Swargarajyam that prompted me to do a role in this film. That’s why I continuously asked Vineeth to cast me as Jerry in this film,” he says.

It was during the shoot of Oru Vadakkan Selfie that Nivin came to know of Jacobinte Swargarajyam. “Vineeth had briefed me on some scenes of the movie, which was then in scripting stage. I really liked the script and expressed my desire to join the project, but Vineeth said that along with direction he was essaying the role of Jerry too,” he recollects.

But Nivin was not ready to give up. “After the pack-up of Oru Vadakkan Selfie, I called him and asked for that role again. He said that it was not a hero-centric film, but a story about a family and father character (Jacob). More than that, he claimed that it would be a small film. But for me those factors didn’t matter; my only demand was to consider me for Jerry’s role if he wanted to focus completely on direction. Even during the production of Action Hero Biju, I used to follow up on the role.

At last, he gave in,” says the actor. As Jacobinte Swargarajyam is a family subject, each character is important. “My character Jerry is the elder son of Jacob, who owns a business firm in Dubai. As Vineeth said, Jerry has no heroism to show. Like the film, my role also will be a feel-good one; it will be completely different from my previous roles.”

Nivin points out that he does not consider it as a transition phase for him. “Yes, it is true that I am getting some different roles, but it is not a purposeful move. It all happens just because different characters and scripts come to me,” says the actor, who has not zeroed in on his next project. “After Jacobinte Swargarajyam, I have not acted in any film. As of now, I have not decided on my next project,” says Nivin, who is happy to be part of Tamil actor Vikram’s music video.

“It was during the shoot of Jacobinte Swargarajyam I got the call from Vikram sir to act in the music video — the flood relief anthem in connection with the Chennai floods — that he was directing.  During the schedule break of Jacobinte Swargarajyam I joined Vikram sir’s set in Chennai. He used to narrate the scenes in Malayalam, English and Tamil. It was a great experience working with a legend like him. He is such a down-to-earth person. Even at those who came there to see the shoot, he was not behaving like a film star, but as a common man,” he sums up.