Playing Anand was easy: Sanju Sivaram

An actor proves his mettle when he steps away from his comfort zone, enters unchartered territory and makes a success of himself.  In Sanju Sivaram’s case, there were a lot of factors working against him. The Malayali actor was acting in a Telugu film - a language alien to him - and playing a character, the likes of which he had never played before. But his debut Telugu film Raktham – The Blood, in which he plays the lead, directed by Rajesh Touchriver, won the Best Foreign Feature at the Indie Film Festival, Ohio, USA.  Not a small feat for the actor who has been seen in some prominent character roles in Mollywood.

There is no doubt Sanju is excited about this win. He is optimistic, feels this is the beginning and more accolades will follow. Shedding light on how the role materialised, Sanju explains, “Rajesh had seen my film 1983 and we have known each other since then. He had told me about this story earlier. When he offered the lead to me, two thoughts went through my mind. First it was in a language that I knew neither head nor tail of and second it was a character unlike any other I had played before.”

Raktham is a social drama on the life of Naxalites that touches on the moral issues involved in choosing a violent path. The role that Sanju has breathed life into is of Naxalite Anand, who, though a rebel, also has the heart of a poet. Anand is unlike the other Naxalites in his group. He has a conscience that questions his actions.   Sanju explains the rest, “Anand is somebody who is very intense and true to his mission, but he also has very strong values and so has a humane side to him. The film, moves through the life of a group of Naxals who plan an attack and go through their internal conflicts and, thus, has a social relevance.”

The role demanded a lot from him acting-wise, but Sanju did not have the luxury of time to get his homework done. To get into the skin of his character, Sanju read about the life of Naxals and went through newspaper clippings. The body language did not prove to be a major impediment. “Because Anand is not someone who is stylised! We shot in dilapidated houses and in forests so the body language was like that of any normal person,” he says.  

Though the scenes were reasonably easy to act out, what tested Sanju’s talent was getting a hang of the language. “The dialogues were in chaste Telugu and went above my head. At one point, I asked Rajesh if he could dilute the dialogues a bit,” he says. It seems all his efforts have paid off, if the appreciation coming his way is any indication. His upcoming Malayalam films include Tharangam and Villain.