Acting class like no other

If you want a fifteen-minute visual treat that introduces you to everything an actor should be, watch the short film Invisible Actor that stars Kalasala Babu and Saiju Kurup in the lead. Kalasala is an aging Kathakali guru called Govindan Master, whose life would be enacted by the brash, arrogant and egoistic actor that Saiju enacts. The short film is about Kalasala tutoring Saiju on what being an actor really is. The film is receiving a tremendous response on YouTube, with many actors sharing the link on their social media pages. Saiju is happy with the accolades and positive reviews coming his way, but to think that he almost did not do the film. 

Saiju, who has acted in two short films earlier, had decided not to act in any more, unless it had humour or a message to pass on. 

“When director Avinash Chandran approached me, at first I thought it was for a full-length film. I enquired about the concept but had no time to spare. Avinash said he would require just one day of mine,” Saiju recalls. 

While Saiju was drawn to the concept, he had his doubts on whether a short film based on behind-the-scenes workings of the film industry would really interest a normal audience. Besides, the initial 25 minutes length made Saiju uncomfortable.

He reasons, “As a viewer, I cannot view a short film longer than ten minutes. So how would I expect other viewers to do so? So, I said no to the offer.”

But some roles have a way of finding you. Avinash called one day and said he had fixed Saiju and Kalasala in his mind for the roles and could not think of anybody else.  He also said whenever Saiju had a day to spare, the shoot could be fixed. 

Avinash’s determination floored Saiju and he asked for the script. The shoot began and it took two days, by which time Saiju was completely ensnared. He reveals, “I told Avinash I was ready to spare yet another day for the film.” It was not only the intense script that caught Saiju’s attention, but also the technical crew — the camera and budget were not compromised and a unit was also taken on hire.  

Though the film looks simple, in reality it was not so! A large part of the film is a dialogue between Kalasala and Saiju who sits in front of a large mirror. Saiju divulges, “When my portions were shot, Kalasala was not in front of me. There were just two scenes in which we shared the frame. Though there was somebody speaking Kalasala’s lines, I had to conceive his reactions and react accordingly!” 

The film ends with Saiju divesting off his ego and getting into the skin of the character. The lines that Kalasala speaks ring out loud and clear, “The actor becomes the character only when they have synced together as one. The attributes of the character become the mannerisms of the actor. No one can see even a bit of the actor remaining in that character.”