Jayasurya: 'John Luther could have done much better if it had not clashed with Kamal Haasan's Vikram'

From Mammootty and Mohanlal to Prithviraj and Fahadh Faasil , Malayalam cinema boasts of many great actors. But if you ask me Jayasurya is a notch above the other greats of his ilk. His diversity of roles is staggering and his histrionic range is super-staggering. With two releases in two months, both well worth his and our time and effort, it was time for Firstpost to catch up with the softspoken genial Jayasurya.

In Meri Awaas Suno you play an RJ who loses his voice to cancer. Traumatizing?

On the contrary, therapeutic and healing. The film teaches us to value what we have because you never know when you will lose it all.

Let me interrupt you here to ask why the film in Malayalam has a Hindi/Urdu title?

Why not? Shouldn’t we be thinking beyond regional barriers? Also, I think there was another Malayalam film recently called Jan-e-Man . We named our film Meri Awas Suno because it was most appropriate. Since I play an RJ, losing my voice was like losing everything. It’s like a film critic losing his eyes.

Very frightening. It can all be gone in the snap of a finger. Your film says it?

Yes, we wanted to show how easy it is to lose everything. But we also wanted to focus on the healing process. My character RJ Shankar regains his confidence and puts his broken life together. I like playing broken characters who heal themselves.

I found it profoundly inspiring?

Thank you. So did I. When the director Prajesh Sen with whom I had worked earlier (in the film Captain in 2017) came to me with the script I immediately said yes. I loved the concept of a man losing everything and then crawling out of the tunnel into light.

Is RJ Shankar’s story in Meri Aawas Suno based on a real character?

After the release, so many people have been sending messages asking this. Is he real? Partly, yes. I got to know about an actor who right at the start of his career was diagnosed with the same thing. He fought against the cancer in his throat, bounced back but lost his voice, just like my character. He is back at acting. But his voice has to be dubbed by someone else. I met this person and heard his experiences.

How much did he help you in playing the RJ?

Well, he shared his experiences, but the emotions, I had to create on my own. No matter how deep an actor goes into a real character he has to finally go back within himself to create the emotions.

In Meri Awas Suno your co-star is Manju Warrier. How was she to work with?

Once the camera is on, it doesn’t matter who my co-star is. But yes, when we were not shooting there was so much to learn from her. She is my senior in the Malayalam film industry. When she shared her experiences it was like a whole world opening up for me.

It is interesting that your last release Sunny was also about a man who loses everything and then picks himself up from the rubble of his ruined life. And now in Meri Awas Suno and your other new film John Luther you play a physically and emotionally damaged man. Didn’t these roles traumatize you personally?

No, once I complete a film I make sure to leave the character behind and move on. It is the one rule that I set for myself as an actor. Never take your characters home. Otherwise, after Vellam and Sunny in 2021, I would have become an alcoholic. Both characters were heavy drinkers. Both my new characters (in John Luther and Meri Awas Suno) are damaged people. I lived with their trauma for as long as we were shooting, then I bid them goodbye. I am already preparing for my next.

Which is?

It’s a costume drama called Kathanar. It is my first-period film. It is also the most expensive film I have ever done. We are going to start the film in September so right now I’m prepping for it.

Do you think the OTT platform has helped Malayalam cinema reach out to a wider audience?

It has certainly helped, but not enough. We are getting there. I think Telugu cinema has made much more headway among pan-India audiences than cinema in other South Indian languages. I hope to change that with Kathanar.

I believe John Luther is going to be a franchise?

It could be. We are considering the possibility. John Luther has done well. But it could have done much better if the producers had not chosen to release it on the same day as Kamal Haasan ’s Vikram .

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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