The accidental actor

_{A mere mention of the name Soubin Shahir brings smiles to the faces of movie buffs. What flashes in their mind must be the roles of Dileep’s friend in Chandrettan Evideya, the PT Master of Premam and Crispin in Maheshinte Prathikaram. If the biggest gift is that of laughter, then Soubin is truly blessed in that department. Each of these   roles had him bringing the house down with his comic timing and flair for delivering one-liners. But he proved that he is more than just a funny man. The audience got to see Soubin’s talent as a director when he wielded the megaphone for the critically       acclaimed film Parava. In yet another huge step, he will be making the transition to a lead role in the film Sudani from Nigeria. Now that has him petrified.} 

_{Soubin first heard about Sudani… from director Rajeev Ravi who had heard the story and wanted him to hear it. That was some time back and though Soubin promised to hear the story, it did not happen. Later, Sameer Thahir and Shyju Khalid were producing a film and asked Soubin to listen to a story, which coincidentally was what Rajeev had mentioned earlier. He continues, “I listened to the story and understood that the director of the film Zakariya was actually the hero, because it would be his craftsmanship that would infuse life into each character in the film. Strictly speaking, there is no hero — even the actors who play mothers have got substantial screen space.”  Soubin plays the role of Majeed—the manager of a   Nigerian player brought to Kerala to play a football match. Though the film is based on football, it is strictly not a sports film. The events unfold away from the football field. “Shot in Malappuram, the film has situational comedy intertwined with some emotional moments and there is goodness in the content,” Soubin says.} 

Stills from Sudani from Nigeria

_{If Soubin’s character Majeed sweats it out on the field, in real life too, Soubin broke into a sweat many a time during the shoot. “The main reason was that the slang used is the Malappuram slang, whereas I have a strong Kochi slang! Added to that, the sound was recorded in sync sound. The first few days my Kochi slang kept slipping in but slowly and steadily it stopped. When the nuances of the language changes, your confidence too slips,” he states, adding, “Normally, I have 10-15 scenes in a movie but here I had almost 95 scenes — meaning,  I am there throughout the film. That made me tense, wondering if the audience would get bored. I really worked hard for this film.” So this is a film he holds close to his heart! 
Working with Nigerian actor Samuel Abiola Robinson was also a good experience because the actor was totally dedicated to his role and made sure to ask and clear any doubts whenever he did not understand something. “He totally synced with the environment and there was no language problem,” mentions Soubin.} 
 

_{Away from the camera, Soubin found things to be very comfortable. Sameer and Shyju were friends as also were many others. The whole unit bonded, with 45 of them staying together. Soubin adds, “Like we did for Parava,” mentioning that Zakariya made things easy by writing down every gesture, mannerism and dialogue that had to be emoted by the actors. “No criteria,” is what Soubin says when asked about his yardstick, adding, “If I feel the story is convincing, then I will do it. I did not enter cinema with the intention of becoming an actor — direction was what I wanted to do. I became an actor accidentally. Acting still scares me but I am a more confident actor now than when I started off.  I prefer to wield the megaphone but my career as an actor made things easier when I directed Parava, because people already knew me.” Asked about his next directorial, he answers in the affirmative and says the writing is going on and he hopes to announce it by this year end. Parava, he says fondly, gave new identities to all the actors and himself as a director.}

_{What he will never forget is a compliment, “My father started off as an assistant director and then became a production controller. Though his biggest wish was to direct a film, he could not do it. After watching Parava he told me ‘I never thought you could direct such a good film.’ That is my biggest compliment,” he says. The actor recently got married to Jamia Zaheer and that is another beautiful journey that’s just begun. “I have known her from before Annayum Rasoolum and from there on she has been a part of everything good in my life. My wife is my lucky charm,” he says fondly. On his other projects, Soubin names them, “Sajid Yahiya-directed Mohanlal has me donning a comic role but otherwise, I have been asked to keep mum about my roles. Kuttanadan Marpapa and an Anwar Rasheed film are my upcoming projects.”}