Aadu 3 star Jayasurya on why Swapnakoodu deserves a sequel: ‘A reunion would be beautiful’ | Exclusive

Malayalam star Jayasurya is all set to return to the big screens after three years in his popular avatar, Shaji Pappan, in Midhun Manuel Thomas’ Aadu 3

Jayasurya | Pic credit: Shimesh

While most of his contemporaries have been busy signing pan-Indian films and working on multiple mega-budget projects, Jayasurya, in the past three years, have extensively dedicated himself to Rojin Thomas’ Kathanar - The Wild Sorcerer. Though fans will have to wait for a few more months for the film to release, they have enough reasons to rejoice now as he makes his return in his most popular onscreen avatar, Shaji Pappan, in director Midhun Manuel Thomas’ Aadu 3.

Ahead of the fantasy-comedy entertainer’s theatrical release on March 19, Jayasurya, in an exclusive interview with OTTplay, talks about reuniting with Pappan’s gang, what’s in store for the audience, a sequel that he would love to do and more.

It’s been three years since your previous release, but what better way to return than as Shaji Pappan.

I am obviously happy; I am not the kind who gets excited. Most often, you have to bid goodbye to the characters that you have loved playing on the final day of shoot. But I have been fortunate to do a lot of sequels in my career - be it Pretham, Punyalan Agarbattis or Aadu. Filmmakers think of the next instalments only when audiences have loved the previous film. So, when people have welcomed Shaji Pappan and his gang with open arms and you get another opportunity to reprise that role, it’s always a matter of joy.

Being set in two timelines, did you get to showcase another side of Shaji Pappan in Aadu 3?

It does have that, but you would still see shades of Pappan in the character in the past timeline. I don’t want to reveal too much about it before the release; but you would get to see how Midhun has conceived and executed it.

The major difference though is that Aadu 3 is a considerably bigger project than the previous film. We took nearly a year to wrap up the shoot. Visually too, it has a bigger canvas. And then obviously the time-travel element; it will be intriguing how Midhun has incorporated that in a fun, entertaining film like this.

Midhun had the idea for a ‘time-travel’ sequel several years ago. But do you think that now is the best time for a Malayalam movie with such a concept to release because of the reception similar films have received in the recent years?

If an experimental movie has been able to convince the audience, it has always ended up as a success. Take the example of Vaisali (1989) or Njan Gandharvan (1991). They dealt with unconventional ideas but the writing convinced our audience. In the case of Aadu 3 too, even though it has portions set in another timeline, it’s been conveyed such that the viewers won’t feel it’s out of place.

When the trailer released, there were comments, asking, ‘What’s this? Baahubali trailer?’ We believe we have done justice in showing the past timeline in a grounded manner. Be it Pappan or Dude (Vinayakan’s character), their idiosyncrasies in the present timeline is also very much intact.

Apart from the characters in In Harihar Nagar or Pattanapravesham sequels, there aren’t a lot of ensemble characters in Malayalam cinema that have had the kind of following as the gang in Aadu. But what was the chemistry between the cast members including Saiju Kurup, Dharmajan, Vijay Babu, Bhagath Manuel, Indrans, Vinayakan and Sunny Wayne while shooting for this film?

When we reunited for this film, everyone had evolved from what they were nine years ago. How they perceived their characters or life, in general, had changed. But we still shared that friendship and mutual respect.

That mattered a lot because when we were doing a scene, everyone was free to contribute anything. There was no ego. Be it direction, music or acting, it’s all a collaborative process. In Aadu, that has been the case from the first film till now.

Because you mentioned reuniting with his team again, you have also been part of several popular films with ensemble cast – Classmates Swapnakoodu and Amar Akbar Antony to name a few. I s there any other multi-starrer that you wished had a sequel?

I really wish that Swapnakoodu had a sequel and I think there’s scope to do that too. ‘Where are these characters now? What are they up to?’ It’s a beautiful thought. I really want to meet them. If there’s a reunion of these characters, it would be great. In fact, when I met (director) Kamal sir, I even asked him to consider the idea.

Also read: Operation Tral: Jayasurya, Ratheesh Vega reunite for thriller, set Christmas release date

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