Newsletter | Will 2023 Mark A Return To Nivin Pauly's Premam Era?

Premam catapulted Nivin Pauly into the big leagues, but his post-Premam ride hasn't exactly been smooth despite a smattering of blockbusters and critically acclaimed roles, writes Neelima Menon.

Nivin Pauly in Thuramukham, released in March this year

This column was originally published as part of our newsletter The Daily Show on April 11, 2023. Subscribe here. (We're awesome about not spamming your inbox!)

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NIVIN PAULY’s rise to stardom — as an 'outsider', alongside peers like Dulquer Salmaan and Fahadh Faasil who already had ‘ins’ into the Malayalam film industry — will always have the cast of an aspirational tale. Each of his films has been instrumental in cementing the popularity he enjoys today — and in his growth as an actor. This includes his turn as the whimsical lover in Thattathin Marayathu (2012), the naïve Kuttan in Bangalore Days (2014), as brooding Giri in Ohm Shanthi Oshaana (2014), and of course his most iconic performance — as George in 2015’s Premam. Nivin will soon complete nearly a decade-and-a-half in Malayalam cinema, but his recent outings — despite brave experiments with characters and genres — haven’t quite had the lustre of his previous innings. Here’s a look at whether Nivin’s on the right track, or if he needs to shift gears for his next decade as an actor:

RECENCY EFFECT

Nivin plays the greedy, debauched and reckless Mattancherry Moidu in Thuramukham released last month. Born into poverty and having been oppressed all his life, Moidu is still allied with his oppressors. His widowed mother and siblings struggle to stay afloat, but all Moidu cares about is satiating his lust and greed.

When he sees the orphaned Umani (Nimisha Sajayan) walking forlornly on the streets, his first instinct is predatory. It is only when he discovers she isn’t as meek as she appears that he decides to take her home to his mother, casting himself as her protector, in the hope that Umani will eventually fall for him. It’s an interesting shift for Nivin, who made a career out of playing romantic heroes of varying hues.

Moidu’s feelings for Umani are tempered with lust, and Nivin handles those scenes with smooth insolence. A multitude of emotions dart across his face as he attempts to make her yield to him, his eyes darkening with desire. The rest of the time, the actor is at home as an unscrupulous, irredeemable thug. Nivin displays a surprising swag in his body language that’s never been visible before, even when certain roles demanded it. In fact, his “unlikeliness” as a robust alpha male hero was cited as a recurrent drawback in his career. But as Moidu, Nivin debunks that opinion.

AT THE CROSSROADS

The past few years have seen Nivin’s career at a crossroads of sorts. In 2022, he explored genres and roles that were out of his comfort zone. In Abrid Shine’s Mahaveeryar a fantasy satire/courtroom drama, Nivin played a sage — Swami Apoornnanandan — replete with saffron robes, rudraksha beads, and a thick swathe of hair tied in a bun. He pulled off this unconventional character despite the very literary dialogues and saintly bearing; his act never strays into parody.

Meanwhile, as Ravi in Padavettu an aimless young man who eventually finds his path to redemption, Nivin ably and convincingly evokes the disquiet and resurgence of the character’s trajectory. But in the indolent Saturday Night (dir. Rosshan Andrrews), Nivin turns in his weakest performance yet (also let down by the writing) as Stanley. Unsurprisingly, the film was rejected by the audience and critics.

In his sole release of 2021, Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham Nivin played a junior artiste and acting coach who is embroiled in a comedy of errors after his wife considers pawning a pair of gold earrings he’d gifted her, in order to raise funds for her brother. Among his cohort, Nivin holds all the aces when it comes to comic roles, and he proves it with his turn as Pavithran — a bit of a loafer, an irreverent husband desperate to get out of a mess of his own making. Nivin’s Pvithran has a craftiness tinged with naivete, and it is visibilised in his body language.

HITS & MISSES

For Nivin, 2019 brought the cheeky comedy Love Action Drama in which he portrays a rich idler who falls in and out of love. Pitched as Nayanthara's Malayalam comeback, Nivin was the only redeeming factor in an illogical film. Again, it is his fantastic comic timing that turns even the most absurd scenes into a riot, thereby making this hapless mess of a film bearable. And as a sop, it did perform well at the box office.

The chinks in Nivin's armour were revealed with Haneef Adeni's Mikhael. True, he was trying to break away from his romantic image. But his Clark-Kent-by-day and Superman-by-night sketch falls flat. Nivin was clearly more at ease with the Clark Kent part of his role, and didn't have the requisite physical swagger for a superhero.

Particularly noteworthy in that year was Geetu Mohandas’ Moothon that had Nivin playing a small-town don in Mumbai. Nivin was effortlessly charming as the lovesick Akbar, who takes time to open up to the gentle but persistent Ameer (Roshan Mathew). However, as the thug who still broods over Ameer's death, Nivin struggles.

THE POST-PREMAM ERA

Premam catapulted Nivin into the big leagues, but his post-Premam ride hasn't exactly been smooth. There were money spinners (Action Hero Biju, Jacobinte Swargarajyam, Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela, Kayamkulam Kochunni) and off-beat roles that flexed his prowess (Hey Jude). At the same time, Nivin was inexplicably losing his superstar sheen, as compared to Fahadh, Dulquer, and Tovino Thomas, all of whom were securing their niches.

Ironically, Nivin cannot be accused of playing it safe or picking the wrong films. Not only has he consciously tried to push the envelope as an actor but also, he has an astute story sense — an aspect that is very apparent in his filmography. It’s just that these choices haven't led to money-spinners off late. With interesting picks like Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai, Thaaram in the offing though, this may just be a return to Premam-era form for Nivin Pauly.

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