The Malayalam film Ananthan Kaadu holds a special place in actor Arya’s career. This will be his first full-length, lead role in a Malayalam film, 20-odd years after his Tamil debut. He explains, “For the films I was part of earlier, I would be on shorter schedules of five to eight days . My commitment then was with Tamil films because I was doing those primarily, and Malayalam films were something I did occasionally.” 

Arya, who began his career in the Tamil film Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005), has acted in Malayalam films such as Urumi, Double Barrel, The Great Father, and Pathinettam Padi. Though none of these roles was full-length, he is a familiar face with the Malayali audience for these and his Tamil films. He has also produced Malayalam films and web series.   

Bilingual advantage

Ananthan Kaadu, written by Murali Gopy and directed by Jiyen Krishnakumar, is set in Thiruvananthapuram. One of the attractions, Arya confesses, was that the character has Tamil connections: “This is a Tamil guy, living in the city. It was a ‘natural fit’ for me. He speaks Tamil, like me, so there was no issue of me dubbing because I know the language. Anyways, the audience identifies me as a Tamil actor.” The film is bilingual; it will be released in Tamil as well and will be dubbed in other languages. 

On a lighter note, he adds, “My grandmother always told me, ‘I don’t understand what you are saying [in the Tamil films]!” Although he was born in Kerala, to Malayali parents, he has lived in Tamil Nadu. 

He came on board when one of the producers [of the film] told him about an ‘interesting’ story by Murali Gopy. Then came a meeting with the director, by which time Arya was curious. Meeting Murali, who narrated the outline, sealed the deal and “everything just fell into place.”   

An ensemble cast

“This is an expensive film, with a huge star cast, so a lot is riding on it.” He is shouldering the film despite a star cast that includes Indrans, Vijayaraghavan, and Murali Gopy, among others. He does not reveal much about the film except that it has a political background; “it is about the relationship between the characters, it is an emotional drama.”  The others in the cast include Nikhila Vimal, Santhy Balachandran and Regena Cassandrra. 

And, of course, there is action by Arya. “There is plenty of action. But it is organic; there are no scenes for the sake of it or to ‘dramatically’ introduce a character or an actor. Everything just happens naturally, going with the flow of the narrative.” 

He is not new to Malayalam films, so there was no shifting tempo in terms of performance. “I agree that the nuances are different, but not too much. The writer and the director have captured everything. I just had to show up and do what was asked of me.” Arya, a veteran of many films, is not nervous about his ‘first’ Malayalam film as lead, but he is excited. 

Ananthan Kaadu releases on June 25.