Being Mallika Sukumaran for 'Punyalan' was tough, she helped a lot: Sagar Surya on his character in 'Prakambanam'

When the team behind ‘Prakambanam’ zeroed in on Sagar Surya for Punyalan, there was a quiet understanding that a lot hinged on him. The film’s central conceit rests on an outrageous gamble: a young man getting possessed by the ghost of his friend’s grandmother, played by veteran actor Mallika Sukumaran. If that performance slipped even slightly into caricature, the entire film could unravel. Everyone involved knew it. Sagar knew it most of all.

“That’s exactly what the director and producer told me,” Sagar says with a laugh. “They kept reminding me that if my performance faltered, the film would go south. There was no middle ground.”

Directed by Vijesh Panathur, ‘Prakambanam’ is a horror comedy built around an absurd yet strangely emotional premise. The story follows three college friends, Sidhu, Punyalan and Shankaran, whose lives spiral into chaos when they begin dealing with the restless spirit of Sidhu’s grandmother.

For Sagar, the role arrived at a crucial moment in his career. He had earlier broken through with Don Sebastian in ‘Pani’, a performance that earned him visibility and acclaim. But it also came with a new anxiety: the fear of being boxed into a particular image.

“After ‘Pani’, I kept hearing stories, but I was very clear about one thing,” he says. “If we do a movie and it doesn’t make an impact on the audience, then what’s the point? I wanted to do something that would connect with people more. And I wanted a character that was completely opposite to Don Sebastian.”

Punyalan offered exactly that. Where Don Sebastian was intense and intimidating, Punyalan is vulnerable, impulsive and eventually, delightfully unhinged. There was also genuine scope for performance, something Sagar was actively looking for.
“When this character came to me, I liked it,” he says. “There was room to explore, to perform. After the film released, everyone started talking about Punyalan. I never imagined that would happen. I’m really happy about that.”

Playing possession convincingly, especially in a comedy, is a tightrope walk. Push it too far and it becomes slapstick. Pull back too much and the joke falls flat. Adding to the challenge was the fact that Sagar had to channel Mallika Sukumaran’s physicality and mannerisms, despite their vastly different body types.

“That was the toughest part,” he admits. “I watched a lot of her videos and spoke to Mallika chechi directly. But the problem is our body types are completely different. Translating her movements onto my body was difficult. Convincing the audience was even harder. But I think it worked in the end.”

To prepare, Sagar trained extensively on his own, while also leaning heavily on Vijesh Panathur’s guidance. Once shooting began, the feedback from the set gave him confidence.
“When I started performing, people kept telling me that it was working, that I was doing well,” he says. “Comedy is not easy. Making people laugh is not easy. Audiences will only come to theatres if the film is good. The fact that they came for ‘Prakambanam’ and responded the way they did means everything.”

Breaking away from Don Sebastian’s shadow was a conscious, and risky, choice. Sagar was repeatedly warned that the image he had built would be hard to shake.
“Everyone told me that,” he says. “That Don Sebastian would stick. But I see it as a blessing that through Punyalan, I was able to break away from that image so quickly.”

That confidence extends to how he views audience expectations now. While there is pressure to follow up successful characters with equally resonant roles, Sagar says he finds the pressure motivating rather than intimidating.
“It’s encouraging,” he says. “It means people believe in you. I enjoy that pressure.”
Sagar’s journey to this point has been anything but linear. Acting was always the dream, but practicality intervened early on.

“From childhood, I wanted to be an actor,” he says. “But I also wanted to take care of my family. So I pursued higher education, hoping I’d get a good job. That didn’t happen.”

What followed was a slow, uncertain climb. Short films. Junior artist roles. Auditions. A breakthrough finally came with Mazhavil Manorama’s ‘Thatteem Mutteem’, which opened doors and set the wheels in motion.
“Everything happened from there,” he says.

In ‘Prakambanam’, chemistry was key, and Sagar credits the film’s success to the bond he shared with co-actors Ganapathi and Al Ameen. Off screen, the trio were already close, and that familiarity translated naturally on screen.

“All of us just wanted the film to succeed,” he says. “If it had been someone else, maybe there would have been issues with me playing Punyalan. But Ganapathi never had a problem. Casting was crucial to this film’s success.”
The film also carries emotional weight as the final screen appearance of Kalabhavan Navas, who passed away before its release.
“I truly believe we had his blessings, and his family’s blessings,” Sagar says. “I believe in that kind of energy. So many factors came together to help this film.”