The actor that he admires, Mohan Lal, directed by Lal Jose, in front of his eyes. Arun Kurian feels he is in a school than on a shooting location. Since his maiden movie, the Aanandam fame actor “had been on a wait”, till Velipadinte Pusthakam came calling. It was not his day in the schedule, but Arun arrived on the sets as a keen observer and learner than an actor. He couldn’t contain the excitement of meeting Mohanlal. Above all, within a few days, their combination scenes would start rolling.
“He is among the two actors I always wished to seek blessings from (the other being Kamal Haasan). I first saw him on the sets of Munthirivallikal Thalirakkumbol, but couldn’t go near him. Here, when he came to the sets, I went near him accompanied by Sharath (Angamaly Diaries). Lalettan knew me as the Aanandam actor. He had watched the movie and liked it too, something I did not expect at all. He is such a nice man and addresses me as mone,” smiles Arun.
The blessing-seeking moment is yet to arrive and he reasons, “There is plenty of time. If I did it at the first meeting, it would have sounded so unreal.”
From the prim-perfect Varun Manjooran of Aanandam, Sameer in Velipadinte Pusthakam has got a beard. “I am a bearded man actually. Back then, I sacrificed it for my role, no big deal. From the less-talking, less-bullshit guy, Sameer is a bit more gregarious type, a college-going city boy,” he explains his transformation to get into the new skin.
Even in his bearded avatar, Arun is recognised by his young fans at Xavier’s College in Thiruvananthapuram, the main location. He does not discourage anyone and happily poses for a selfie or two.
Having earned his masters in business administration from Whistling Woods International Institute in Mumbai, he plunged straightaway into acting. “While pursuing my MBA, I assisted in making ad films and kept on sending my profiles for audition tests. First I got into Aanandam. For this movie, I was invited as Lal Jose sir had me in his mind for the character, Sameer. Apart from him, the entire crew has youngsters. There is enough and more room for me to learn,” he concludes.
