Indrans
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
There is no missing the smile in Indrans’ voice as he talks about his role as Mattancherry Sukumaran in the blockbuster Suriya-starrer Karuppu. “Tamil is a language I have immense respect for. The same goes for the films and the industry. I have worked in Chennai during my costume designer days. However, I didn’t stay for too long. I returned home, to Kerala!” he says, referring to his first major role in a Tamil film.Karuppu, directed by RJ Balaji,was a leap of faith for the actor, who has stuck to Malayalam films. He confesses to his many apprehensions about working in a film in Tamil, a language, he says, he was not sure he could do a film in. “I simply did not have the courage.” As he demurred, Balaji convinced him. “There was language problem, in my mind, which has held me back from Tamil movies all these years; then there were date issues as well for this film. But Balaji was persistent. He told me that he had written the role with me in mind. That it was not a Tamilian character but a Malayali, a Malayalam-speaking person. That put my mind at ease. Another key factor was that I had watched Balaji’s other films, and I liked them.” That Balaji telling him not to worry about the language, to speak the Tamil he could and was comfortable in, meant a lot to him is evident from the way Indrans talks about it. “I was also worried about the performance because we have heard that the tempo is higher in Tamil films. There was nothing like that. Balaji told me to keep it simple, and present the character as I normally would.” Indrans as the hapless Mattancherry Sukumaran trapped in a legal case and how the lawyers engaged by him bleed him financially dry is heartbreaking. Anagha Ravi is his daughter Binu Sukumaran. His portrayal has come in for praise. “I feel as heavy or light as a sheet of paper…floating high in the air with all the praise coming my way,” he says, a tad bashfully. “I have not watched the film yet since I have been on the sets of Kaalante Thangakudam. I plan to catch up on the film over the next couple of days, hopefully.” Then comes the inevitable question, the experience of acting with Suriya. Indrans confesses it was his first time meeting the actor, who has a devoted, committed fan following in Kerala.
