Sanju Sivram has been a familiar name in the Malayalam movie industry ever since he made his debut in the 2013-movie Nee Ko Nja Cha. But he’s been busy for the last five years by playing interesting roles, like that of Babukuttan in 1983. In between, he also made his Telugu debut through Raktham, directed by Rajesh Touchriver. His career has been soaring and now he’s playing a key character in Mammootty-starrer Oru Kuttanadan Blog, which is slated as an Onam release.
Sanju plays the character of Sudhi in Oru Kuttanadan Blog, a blog writer from Kuttanad. His blog features stories about the place, the people and the incidents that happen there. “The movie begins with the blog being read by a NRI, who belongs to Kuttanad. My character is so influenced by Hari, he actually sees him as a mentor. The blog has an important role in taking the story forward. Sethu ettan framed the character of Sudhi keeping me in mind. This is a great achievement and I will always be indebted to him for giving me such an important character,” says Sanju about his character.
He relishes the shooting experience with Mammootty and the team. They had good fun on the sets and even had the fortune of celebrating Vishu with the team. He says working with Mammootty was a dream-come-true moment for him. Says Sanju, “It was a learning experience. Artistes like me grew up watching the movies of legends like Mammookka and Lalettan. When I started loving movies, all I wished was to meet them. And now I got the chance to act throughout with Mammookka. What more can I ask for?” Sanju had earlier worked in Masterpiece for a song sequence. However, it was on the sets of this movie that he had the chance to know more about Mammootty.
“How or what made actors like Mammookka superstars was always in my mind. The shooting days really gave me a definite answer to these. To me, it was the best experience of my career so far. The movie even gave me a chance to work with Nedumudi sir. Even if it’s a small scene, I will always cherish the improvisations coming from him,” he says. After Raktham, Sanju has reunited with Rajesh Touchriver for the Odia-Telugu bilingual movie Patnagarh 23 Feb 2018, in which he plays a cop. The movie is inspired from a true incident that happened in Odisha in February, wherein a young software engineer was killed by a bomb blast. The film also stars prominent actors like Atul Kulkarni, Odia actor Manoj Mishra, Tanikella Bharani, Yashpal Sharma etc. “Acting with actors like Atul Kulkarni is a different experience. He’s someone with different perspectives on acting and life.” Raktham, which is slated to release by the end of 2018, has already won five international awards.
Sanju hopes to direct a movie one day. It’s definitely on the cards but he says it will take time. He asserts the process requires a lot of time and technical knowledge; direction is a bigger responsibility and needs to be more equipped. “Oru Kuttanadan Blog narrates the story of Kuttanad. The small incidents in that village form the story. It’s a movie with a good feel and visuals. The movie will really be a refreshing one,” he concludes.
