It’s an exciting time for Indrajith. It’s Vishu and Mohanlal has been the best kaineettam ever. It’s not every day one gets to act in a movie that is a tribute to someone very close. For him, playing Sethumadhavan in Sajid Yahiya’s Mohanlal, which hit the screens on Saturday, has been a blessing. “Like everyone, I too grew up watching Mohanlal movies, awestruck by his performance in each film. Mohanlal is special as Lalettan is a close family friend of ours,” says the actor, who makes an interesting revelation. His entry to filmdom was through Padayani in which seven-year-old Indrajith played the childhood version of actor Mohanlal.
Sharing fond memories of the actor, Indrajith says, “Lalettan and our mom (Mallika Sukumaran) went to school together; she was in his senior class in Model School, Thiruvananthapuram, and they were neighbours. She always talks about how she used to take care of him like a little brother, playing together. When his parents travelled for work, Lalettan used to stay in our grandparents’ house in Poojappura. I remember them saying how naughty he was, climbing trees. During our childhood too, I have vague memories of Lalettan coming home and playing cricket with me and Raju (Prithviraj).”
“During the shoot of Dasaratham in Ooty, we all stayed in a hotel, which doubled up as a hospital in the film. He used to come to us and and together, we would all play chess. A lot of memories are there,” he adds.
He has been lucky to share screen space with the actor in films like Chotta Mumbai and Baba Kalyani. Mohanlal sees Indran as Sethumadhavan, the husband of the diehard Mohanlal fan Meenukutty, brought to life by Manju Warrier. “Meenukutty admires the superstar to the point of obsession that it creates a lot of problems in her personal life. Sethumadhavan is a bank employee who marries his childhood sweetheart Meenukutty and how her crazy love for the actor poses problems in their life and society form the crux of the story. It’s a humour-based movie and Sethumadhavan is another character with comic shades I am performing after Amar Akbar Anthony,” he adds.
The movie brings double delight for Indran as it has also shot his daughter Prarthana to stardom. The Class IX student has already proved her mettle as a singer through My Great Father, but the viral song La La La Laletta... crooned by her has taken the little girl to new heights.
“We are all happy that the song received an unbelievable response. It is a big break for her. We discovered that she had a flair for music when she was eight or nine. She learnt to play the keyboard and guitar all by herself from YouTube tutorials and now says that she wants to make a career in music,” says Indrajith, who, along with his wife Poornima, is glad to support their daughter’s dreams. “She is now learning Western music. My youngest daughter Nakshatra too sings, but she is not so much into music like Prarthana. The moment she is back from school, she picks up her guitar. She is that interested in it.”
After Mohanlal, Indran is awaiting the release of Naragasooran, the much-awaited project of Dhruvangal 16-fame Karthick Naren. “In the movie, I play a cop named Laxman. It’s a thriller revolving around five characters. The other actors are Aravind Swamy, Sundeep Kishan, Shriya Saran and Aathmika. It’s one of the most promising roles in my career. The financial issues related to the film have been sorted out and it is expected to hit the screens soon,” says the actor, who has wrapped up the shooting in Ooty where the film was shot over 42 days. He calls Karthick an “unbelievably talented man”.
Indran adds, “The ideas and subjects he has, the number of scripts he has in hand… he is a super director in the making. He is just 21, but his talent and passion are very inspiring. It was a great experience working with him. It takes him just five days to develop a thread into a full-fledged script! An amazing guy he is.”
After Vishu, on Monday, he will be off to Goa, to the sets of Thakkol, directed by Kiran Prabhakar and produced by Shaji Kailas.
“It’s the biopic of a priest. It’s my next priest role after Amen. I’m very hopeful of the film because it has so many novelties to offer,” he says.
Vishu, as usual, will be family time. “That has been a norm since childhood. Wherever in the world we are, we make it a point to have the feast together,” he concludes.
