From leaving his IT job to being one of the most talked about actors in the Malayalam film industry, Sunny Wayne has come a long way. Even the industry peers are cheering his commitments.
After receiving applauds for playing the antagonist in Kayamkulam Kochunni opposite to Nivin Pauly, the 35-year old is gearing up for his next release – 'French Viplavam'.
All said, he isn’t the type to rush in and make random talks in a conversation. But he takes his time and smiles right away before answering each questions. Excerpts from an interview with Onmanorama:
It's all about good films
While most of the actors are known by their films, Sunny Wayne is well-identified with some of his characters such as Poombaatta Girish (Annmariya Kalippilaanu), Satan Xavier (Aadu Oru Bheegara Jeeviyanu and Aadu 2), Kuridi (Second Show) etc. Call him a self-made actor and he says, “I don't know if can really take that label. That would be arrogance I think. I have never planned my career as such. When I am approached with a project, what I feel right at the moment, I pitch into that and execute it. That is how each projects happened so far.”
For him, cinema is a way of life. “I am waking up each day for this and living for cinema. I go ahead believing that good characters will come my way. Never have I designed a career. But yes, I have dreamt of many characters which I wish to do. When I did my first character Kurudi, people accepted and applauded it and motivated me calling me by that name. I know audience will surely accept good films and good characters.”
From Viplavam days to flood days
Sunny Wayne terms French Viplavam a novel attempt.
“I can confidently say that this film will be a unique one. On March 31, 1996, an announcement regarding anti-liquor drive was made. The basic theme of the movie revolves around it. The story takes place right from the evening the announcement happened. It's a simple small film which discusses the politics behind it in the most satirical manner."
Interestingly, the film was mostly shot in the backwaters of North Paravur which was recently hit by floods. The actor had grabbed headlines back then for celebrating his birthday by volunteering at the camps. “One of the producers of French Viplavam is Jafar Khan. His house is at Manjaly. His house started flooding at 1 am. Later, water started gushing to the second floor as well. He was helpless with his three kids and wife not knowing where to go. His two cars were completely submerged under water. Later, the rescuers came and helped them. We came to know about this much later and hence I wanted to do my bit supporting our brothers and sisters affected by the floods.
“The areas where we had mostly shot the film were badly hit. After the floods, we went to meet the families. During floods, we made sure that we could be of help to the people of the place where we shot the movie. When you see the trailer of the movie, you will realise that the place is no more the same. Let's pray that such a catastrophe won't happen again."
The Kollywood entry
Talking about stepping into the Tamil industry he said, “The movie is directed by Raju Murugan, who won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil last year (for Joker). The call-up was indeed a surprise for me. Although many offers had come my way earlier, nothing happened. So this was the right call at the right time. And being with such a director I didn't need to think twice. The movie will release next January," added Sunny Wayne.
