Time for a big turn

As someone who had been on the silver screen cracking jokes for over two decades, it is a revelation to see Shaju Sreedhar in a serious role, in an aged getup when the trailer of the short film Yudasinte Loha hit YouTube a few days ago. Playing a cop in his 50s in an investigative thriller is something Shaju hasn’t attempted, and he foresees a change, a huge one, in his career.

“All these years, I have always been a filler actor; someone who fills the gap in a group, sometimes among the hero’s bunch of friends, sometimes a replacement of someone who couldn’t fit, always the funny man. I was dying for a change and even took a break from acting for four years,” he laughs.

But Shaju couldn’t stay away from movies for long. He sat with friends who were scripting movies, contributed dialogues, of course, uncredited ones and they rewarded him with more ‘filler roles’ that he couldn’t refuse. And he returned to acting – to films, and now, exploring the web world. Along with Yudasinte Loha, he will be playing the lead in two Malayalam web series.

“The first episode of horror series Hellmate has already aired and the response so far has been good. I have also committed to a web series in which I pair up with Sheelu Abraham,” says Shaju, who considers himself lucky to have acted with Amitabh Bachchan for a TV commercial. “It was like a dream. I had more dialogues than him and it took me some time to get a hang of seeing a legend in such close quarters. I was trembling with nervousness,” recalls the actor, who is awaiting the release of Johny Johny Yes Appa and the upcoming Arun Gopy directorial starring Pranav Mohanlal. In the film, Shaju will be sporting a bald look and he has hit the gym to prep for the role.

Throughout the ups and downs, his family has been very supportive. Shaju’s wife, yesteryear actress Chandni, is running a dance school at their home where she and her team train over 300 children in classical dance forms, music and art. Their daughters Nandana and Neelanjana too are very artistically inclined. “Nandana has been winning every dance and mono act competition in school for the past seven years. The younger one too is very talented,” he says.

The Dubsmash videos of Shaju and Nandana have been viral; she has been getting offers to act too. “I know that she wants to try acting but she has just joined graduation. Let studies come first; I am not against her acting in movies. With Dubsmash, she has become very famous. Even I am being recognised as the man from the viral Dubsmash videos,” he laughs.

Many of his contemporaries like Nadirshah, Salim Kumar, Shajohn and Harisree Ashokan are wielding the megaphone; will Shaju too be seen helming a film any soon? Pondering over it for a few seconds, he says, “Direction has always been a plan and yes, I am confident of pulling it off well. I have a story in mind too. But before that, I need to prove myself as an actor. Direction will happen only after that.”