Vinayakan. Photo: Josekutty PanackalThe ‘best actor’ award has suddenly thrust Vinayakan on the mainstream from the peripheries. The unassuming actor, however, refuses to be carried away by the spotlight.
He views the accolades coming his way as an outlet of dissent. “I see that the award is being taken in by the people. It is part of a protest. This is not about me or even my movies. This is a youthful protest,” he says.
Though he considers the social media support spurred by the unexpected award as the reflection of an alternate public consciousness, Vinayakan has quietly stepped aside to focus on his daily work. In conversation with the Kerala State best actor of 2016:
On the award
The award stayed with me for only 10 minutes after it was announced. I moved on. Of course I realize the importance of this. I get a lot of compliments. Even the Chief Minister called me. So did Lalettan (Mohanlal). I am happy about all this. One thing I have learned is you can achieve anything if you strive for it. I grew up watching the movies of the 1980s and 90s. I had stopped watching movies at a point in time. Now I am more into spirituality. Music and dance keep me happy. I am a common man. I cannot react artificially. That is why I refused to act when media-men came to my house (after the award was announced).
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On shying away from media
I do evaluate myself. I always felt that I have not done anything to appear before the media. It took 18 years since I started my career to see my photo on a movie poster - of Big B. This award has made me bold enough to face the public. This award could change some things in cinema. Malayalam cinema has just risen from a bad patch. Kammattipaadam, Maheshinte Prathikaaram and Kali prove that. There were a lot of movies in the 1980s and 90s. Ramji Rao Speaking was my favorite.
The road to Kammattipaadam
A still from KammatipaadamI had put on a lot of weight thanks to my eating and drinking habits. I reduced weight to 62 kilos in 40 days. I would put on my running shoes even at 9 pm. Rajeev Ravi had been working on Kammattipaadam for about 20 years. The movie is about a place where I grew up. I did not need much preparation to act the part of Ganga. I have witnessed many of the incidents as you see in the movie. All the dirt in Ernakulam city would end up at Kammattipaadam. We were still happy even though our houses were flooded for six months. Even now, there are a lot of people who do not have access to a proper house or drinking water.
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I am a common man and I cannot react artificially, says Vinayakan. Photo: Josekutty PanackalThe unknown musician
Rajeev Ravi wanted me to compose the song, ‘Puzhu, pulikal...’ I want to do it more often. I already have a couple of offers to compose music in movies directed by Rafi and Sugeeth. Dance was my passion when I was young. I would get Rs 2,000 for a performance. There were nine dancers in our troupe. We would need Rs 10,000 for the costume. The same costume would put off our audience. I look forward to doing choreography once again.
On future plans
I do not insist on listening to a script before committing a movie. Most of the times, the scenes we had shot may not make it to the final product. I only listen to the one-liner. I do not plan to be selective in my roles just because I do not have so many movies to choose from. I am open to any role. Negative characters offer you more freedom. But I do not want to do it for Telugu movies. You will be beaten up upside down for almost a week.
