The curly hair strikes a chord but other than that, Jagan Reju bears no resemblance to his debut role in the film Usthad Hotel. Now that Usthad Hotel is mentioned, a keen eye could probably spot the young boy who played Thilakan’s childhood in Jagan’s now six foot frame. Gone is the puppy fat and in place is a strapping young man with a beard and a moustache. Director Lal Jose too was caught by surprise when he saw Jagan in person while on the sets of Velipadinte Pusthakam.
Jagan explains the reason, “I had met Lal Jose at a mall in Kochi some years back and my father had introduced me to him. So probably he had that image in mind when he called my father to cast me for a role in Velipadinte Pusthakam. When I met him in person, he was taken aback by the change in my physical appearance.”
After Lal Jose got over the initial amazement, he realised that Jagan was apt for the role of the rough and tough rowdy character, Benjamin aka Kaka Ramesh.
Lal Jose then asked Jagan two questions, the first of which was if Jagan knew martial arts and karate as he had a fight scene opposite Mohanlal. A sheepish Jagan narrates, “The only experience I had with martial arts was when I was in school but I knew that I would go to any length to get the role so I trained in stunts under Mafia Sasi and watched the other stunts being performed on the sets.” That was the first hurdle crossed.
Coming back to the second question that Lal Jose asked, Jagan explains, “It was if I knew how to dance. When I went to the sets, the song ‘Jimmikki Kammal’ was being shot and I was watching the steps with trepidation and wondering how on earth I could match the deft dance steps.” But Jagan managed to do a commendable job thanks to the support of his co-stars and the crew. When Jagan mentions that he was willing to go to any length to get the role, he was not kidding. The engineering student had to skip his sixth semester exams to play the role of Benjamin. He reasons, “I can write my exams once more but a role like this may not come again.”
He has no regrets too. He says, “It was a huge exposure. I could dance, act and fight as well as render dialogues.” Working with Mohanlal was a priceless experience, about which he gushes, “Everyone used to stand and watch him perform. He takes a two-page dialogue, scans it for five minutes and then goes for a take. It’s very inspiring and impressive.” Jagan nurses filmmaking ambitions and has already made two short films. The two months on the sets of Velipadainte Pusthakam were a learning period, which has helped the filmmaker in him.
