Second innings
VIJAY GEORGE
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Sai Kumar's comeback has seen him don a wide variety of roles that explore his versatility and innate talent.
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Now, negative characters are not plain `black' figures. They come in all shades; some are greedy for power or money or influence.
SHADES OF GREY: Sai Kumar feels that a negative character is tough to enact.
With characters, mainly in shades of grey, aplenty in his kitty, Sai Kumar has been living out of suitcases for some time now. Not that he is complaining. After going through a roller coaster ride in Mollywood, the actor is savouring every moment of his hard won success.
Sai feels that his years of experience in professional theatre help him get into the skin of a wide range of characters with considerable ease.
Stage experience
"Being in KPAC, where the acting is more realistic and far from melodramatic, has helped me a great deal. I have been on stage five times in a day when I was with them. We had to learn around eight to nine dramas by heart at a time."
As son of the illustrious actor Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, was his entry into films a natural transition?
"Not really. I always wanted to become a police officer. But it never happened. My sister Shobha had joined KPAC before me and I followed suit, at the age of 20. My father was not averse to my decision to get into professional theatre though he wanted me to make sure that I had the talent to be there."
Later, Sai became a member of Kollam Aiswarya and Thiruvananthapuram Sanghachethana, both drama troupes. It was while acting in the drama `Swati Tirunal' that he got an offer to act in Siddique-Lal's `Ramji Rao Speaking.' The film went on to become a big hit and his entry into show business was quite sensational.
Although things went off well for some time, there was a lull in his career after Bharathan's `Chamayam.'
"When I took some extra time to finish some ongoing projects that were nearing completion, it affected my other schedules and the rumour mills had it that I was not disciplined. Looking back, I think I was not careful in shaping my career in a planned way by signing films with well-known names in the business then. Luckily for me, things have been happening after T.S. Suresh Babu's `Palayam,'" he says.
Changing tracks
It was with Kamal's `Ayushkalam' that Sai Kumar changed tracks to play the villain or "anti-hero," as he would prefer to phrase it. He feels that a negative character is quite tough to enact, "as the hero will have everyone in the film vying to set things in his favour, while his rival has to plough a lonely furrow. This tends to be more challenging for the anti-hero." He agrees that considering the number of negative characters he enacts, there is the risk of being viewed with a certain prejudice by the audience.
"I have always kept this aspect in mind while choosing my roles; I have been doing positive roles as well to keep a balance. For instance, the role of Mammootty's step-father in `Rajamanikyam' and Dileep's father in `Chess.'"
However, Sai Kumar feels that the concept of anti-heroes has undergone some major changes over the years.
"Now, negative characters are not plain `black' figures. They come in all shades; some are greedy for power or money or influence. Their actions are justified in the story and they are multi-dimensional characters with a range of emotions. So, they do not encounter the blind hatred that villains had to put up in an earlier era," he explains.
Sai Kumar feels that films such as `Aram Thampuran,' `Valiaettan,' `Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum,' `Kunjikkoonan,' `Bharatchandran IPS' and `Rajamanikyam' were some the many movies that gave him a second lease of life in the film industry.
Serials
He played historical characters in a few serials; some of the characters had been enacted by his father.
"I had seen my father playing several historical characters; it has influenced me. But I wouldn't dare compare myself to a stalwart like him in my roles as Pazhassi Raja and Veluthambi Dalawa."
Sai Kumar is now acting in a number of films such as Jomon's `Bharghavacharitham Moonnam Kandam,' Janardhanan's `Mahasamudram,' Shaji Kailas's `The Don,' K. Madhu's `Pathaka' and Jayaraj's `Aanachantham.'
In `Awastha,' he plays the protagonist - an ageing police constable, who goes through many struggles in his life. He has high hopes about Anwar Rasheed's `Chotta Mumbai' and the M.T.-Hariharan project `Payyamvelly Chanthu.'
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