As a kick landed solidly on his chest, Adil Ibrahim grinned and bore it, all the while gritting his teeth. Behind him, his three friends were not doing anything to help him, but erupting in mirth. Turning back, Adil looked at his friends Jayaram,Unni Mukundan and Sanju Sivaram and muttered under his breath promising them retribution. This scene was for the film Achayans starring all four of them in lead roles. Adil explains, “There was this scene in a bar that required actor Krishna to kick me on my chest but he being so tall, it would invariably land anywhere but my chest.”
“The director kept on asking for retakes and I gave at least 18 retakes translating to 18 kicks that I received from Krishna who was very concerned about my health. My co-actors who were supposed to look concerned and grim-faced were laughing their heads off behind my back seeing my plight.” This scene aptly sums up the bonhomie that the actors share in real and reel life.
That bond is very visible in the film as well where the four play cousins and close buddies. Adil who plays a flirt called Aby says, “Unni, Sanju and me hang out together even otherwise and Jayaram, too, proved to be totally cool though he is a senior actor. He made us all very comfortable and we had a very breezy shoot. ” Adil mentions that the film involved travel to places like Wagamon, Vandiperiyar and Thattekkadu ensuring that the foursome spend a lot of time together, sometimes travelling together in their own cars. Adil reminisces, “We used to swap a lot of stories about our lives and pulled each other’s legs a lot. There was a lot of ribbing and good natured boasting going around and was an extremely enjoyable experience.”
It was Adil’s turn as the host of a popular game show that had director Kannam Thamarakulam zeroing in on him. Perhaps the repartees, wit and joking that were his forte while hosting the show got the director’s attention. Adil says, “The role is almost an extension of my host persona and that made portraying the character effortless. Also it was the first time that I was offered a comic role and I did not want to let go of the opportunity. It was also a full length role with a lot of dialogues and a suspense element in the climax.” Adil is currently shooting for Hello Dubaikkara which is again a rib tickler and also has Onnum Parayanilla in his kitty.
