After ‘Narivetta’, offers remained scarce in Malayalam, ‘DC’ changed things for Pranav Teophine

Pranav Teophine may be getting noticed by a wider audience with Arun Matheswaran’s ‘DC’, but the actor had already made an impression in Malayalam cinema with his performance as Thami in ‘Narivetta’. What came after, however, was not a rush of offers. Despite the attention he received for the role, substantial opportunities in Malayalam remained difficult to find, prompting Pranav to look more actively towards Tamil cinema, where he found it easier to get work.

That search eventually led him to ‘DC’, where he plays Sebastian, a member of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s gang and a close friend of his character Das. Unlike the intense and troubled Thami, Sebastian is someone who wants to leave his violent past behind and build a peaceful life.

Interestingly, Pranav had already been trying to get the attention of director Arun Matheswaran before ‘DC’ came his way. “After ‘Narivetta’, I was constantly looking for different kinds of roles. I used to do concept photoshoots and tag Arun sir, and he would respond to them. I wanted to approach him after doing a good project. So after ‘Narivetta’, I messaged him and told him about the film. He had already watched ‘Narivetta’ and said my work was really good. He told me that we would work together. Later, I got a call from the production office of ‘DC’,” Pranav told Onmanorama.

Matheswaran has established a filmmaking style centred on dark characters, violence and morally complicated worlds. Having just played an intense role in ‘Narivetta’, Pranav wondered whether Sebastian would take him into similar territory. He soon realised that the character was quite different.

“Arun sir told me that my character was on the softer side. It is about the bonding between the gang. Their main motive is to set out to do something good. Sebastian wants to leave his violent past behind and start a good life. He keeps pushing everyone towards it. He is a good friend,” he said.
That softer side became one of the things Pranav enjoyed about Sebastian. The character is still part of Das’ violent world, but his motivations are different. Rather than embracing that life, Sebastian is looking for a way out of it.

Pranav also had an advantage while working with Lokesh. Their association goes back to 2020, when he worked in Lokesh’s directorials ‘Master’ and ‘Vikram’. Over time, Pranav says, he developed a good relationship with Lokesh and his team.

“Lokesh sir is like a mentor to me. So working with him was very easy. During scenes, he would tell me that something could be a good moment for me and suggest how I could approach it. If it was his scene, he would also ask for suggestions. It was a very collaborative process,” Pranav said.
He did not involve himself in the larger script or story, leaving that to Matheswaran. But Lokesh’s suggestions during the filming sometimes helped shape Sebastian’s moments.

Pranav recalled a scene in which Das goes to meet Parvathy for the last time. Lokesh suggested that Sebastian wipe the blood off his face, telling Pranav that it could become a good moment for him in the scene. The actor said that the sequence was later among the moments audiences praised after the film’s release.
The response to ‘DC’ has also come at a crucial point in Pranav’s career. Despite the attention he received for ‘Narivetta’, Malayalam cinema did not immediately offer him the kind of roles he was looking for.

“It was after a huge struggle that I got a good Malayalam project like ‘Narivetta’. Even after getting good responses, project-wise I wasn’t receiving good offers from Malayalam. In Tamil, it was much easier for me because I have a good circle there,” he said.

Pranav continued approaching directors in both industries, even as he felt disappointed that the response to ‘Narivetta’ had not translated into more opportunities in Malayalam. ‘DC’, however, has helped change that situation. The actor says he is now being recognised by more people, including audiences who did not know that the actor playing Sebastian was the same Malayali performer who had appeared in ‘Narivetta’.

With more opportunities now coming his way, Pranav is also thinking carefully about what he wants to do next. He does not want the attention from ‘DC’ to push him into a particular mould.
The actor is not worried about being offered villainous or rugged characters either. He believes that even if an actor plays several characters in the same broad space, there is room to make each one different.

“Even if you get a series of villain characters in a row, they won’t all be the same. What we do as artists is make them different. But I want to break that mould. I want to do different roles,” he said.

Pranav’s choices, at least in terms of what he hopes to explore, are varied. He would like to do something like ‘Premalu’, take on a film in the mood of ‘Bramayugam’ or explore a project like ‘Khalifa’. The idea is not simply to avoid rugged characters. Even if his next role is another intense or rough-edged one, Pranav wants to find something new within it. “Even if I get a rugged role next time, I am thinking about how to do something differently,” he said.