'I was always here': Nivin Pauly opens up after ‘Sarvam Maya’ success

When director Akhil casually remarked on set that the film would cross the 100-crore mark, it drew more smiles than belief. At the time, it felt like the kind of optimism filmmakers lean on to keep spirits high during exhausting shoot days. Even Nivin Pauly didn’t read too much into it. But ten days after ‘Sarvam Maya’ arrived in theatres, the numbers tell a very different story. The film has crossed ₹100 crore, a feat usually reserved for loud, mass-driven action spectacles. That a film rooted almost entirely in everyday emotions and human vulnerability has reached this milestone so quickly makes its success all the more striking.

For Nivin, the moment is as much about emotional closure as it is about box-office triumph. Speaking candidly, he reflects on the difficult stretch that preceded this high point, and the quiet faith that kept him going.

“I was always here,” he says.

“I chose films I genuinely liked. The problem was that many of them didn’t work the way I hoped they would. It wasn’t just my struggle — my family went through it with me.” He recalls how conversations everywhere seemed to circle back to his films not working, how unsolicited advice piled up, and how confusion crept in about what choices to make next. “Still, I believed that my day would come. Maybe late, but it would come. And it did. The audience welcomed me back with open arms. What more could I ask for?”

What has surprised him most is the depth of that affection. Messages from strangers and acquaintances alike have made him realise how emotionally invested people are in his journey. One memory, in particular, stays with him. During one of the hardest phases of his life, when false accusations weighed heavily on him, a family on a scooter stopped their vehicle near his car outside his Kaloor home. “They told me, ‘We’re with you. Don’t break. Move forward bravely.’ I was overwhelmed,” he says. “They could have simply gone their way. But they stopped. Maybe some film I did once gave them happiness. That’s the only explanation I can think of.”

The emotional impact of ‘Sarvam Maya’ hit even closer to home when his mother watched the film in a theatre. “She called me and said, ‘Mon, do people really love you this much? I can’t believe it.’ That’s not something you can take lightly,” he says. “It gives you a sense of responsibility. From now on, there’s no room for taking the audience for granted.”

Looking back, there were signs of that connection long before this comeback. A 20-minute guest appearance in ‘Varshangalkku Shesham' drew an unexpectedly strong response in theatres. “Even after a series of failures, it felt like people were still waiting for me,” he says. Filmmaker Vineeth Sreenivasan had often reminded him of that bond. “‘The audience has given you a place — don’t forget it,’ he would say. I truly understood what that meant only after ‘Sarvam Maya’ released.”

Nivin is also frank about the mistakes he made along the way. “Performing well is important, but choosing the right films matters just as much,” he says. After a string of popular successes early in his career, advice came thick and fast — suggestions to take on more ‘serious’ roles, to constantly reinvent himself. “That pushed me towards experimentation. Some of it worked, some of it didn’t.”

He brushes aside comparisons and labels, including Akhil’s affectionate reference to him as ‘his Mohanlal’, a nod to Nivin’s earlier stint as an associate director. “I don’t think I deserve comparisons like that,” he says. What he does cherish is the honesty with which ‘Sarvam Maya’ was made. “There were no gimmicks, no exaggerated promotions. It was made sincerely. That’s what I connect with. I’m an ordinary person. I believe if you do your work honestly and deal with people honestly, success will follow in its own time.”

As for what lies ahead, Nivin has learnt not to over-plan. ‘Dear Students’ was expected to release during Christmas, but instead, ‘Sarvam Maya’ found its moment. “It makes you feel there’s a bigger plan at work,” he says. “And clearly, that plan was right.”

For now, his approach is simple. Work with sincerity. Choose films that resonate with audiences. Keep moving forward. And above all, remain grateful — to the viewers who stood by him, and to the team that helped ‘Sarvam Maya’ become the film it is today.