Exclusive! Aneesh Gopal: Unni Mukundan would have no qualms about jumping 10 times from the 10th floor

For actor Aneesh Gopal, Bhramam was a dream come true for many reasons. The actor, who made his debut with Second Show, considers acting with Prithviraj Sukumaran in the movie one of the key highlights in his career. “I was born in a small village named Cheekkode in Malappuram. There has been no other actor from there and so I was the best actor in the village, from my school days. But that allowed me to dream and eventually realise a lot of them,” says Aneesh, who had played pivotal roles in Theevandi, Kalki and Argentina Fans Kattoorkadavu.

In a quick chat with OTTplay, Aneesh, who plays an autorickshaw driver in Bhramam, talks about working with Prithviraj, Unni Mukundan and his upcoming movies.

Bhramam is a film that has some of the top cast and crew in Malayalam. Tell us about your experience working with the team?

I was recommended to Ravi K Chandran sir by producer CV Sarathi. I had worked with Raju (Prithviraj) chettan in Ennu Ninte Moideen as a junior artiste and since then it has been my biggest wish to perform with him in a film. That has been a dream till this movie. He is an institution in himself. While people like me are worried about our careers, he is thinking of how to take the entire Malayalam film industry forward. His vision also benefits us artistes working in the industry. During the shoot, he likes to keep to himself. But just before the shot, he would tell us how we can go about it and we rehearse. Scenes with him don’t go for many takes. Initially, I was a bit scared but if we clearly understand what he’s trying to convey, it becomes really easy.

Most of your scenes are with Unni Mukundan, Jagadish and Sminu Sijo in the movie.

Jagadish chettan is a yesteryear superstar and has a wealth of experience having acted in so many films over decades. And yet he would hang around with us. Both Sminu chechi and I could learn a lot from him.

Working with Unni chettan was again a different experience. There was a scene where I had to jump from the third floor. I am someone whose head starts to spin if I look down from the first floor of my house. It’s the first time I was doing an action with a rope and somehow, I just did it. But when it comes to Unni chettan, he would have no qualms about jumping 10 times from the 10th floor. He loves action scenes so much.

You have been in the industry for nine years now. In the past few years, filmmakers have cast character actors such as Balu Varghese, Sudhi Koppa and Lukman Avaran as heroes and those movies have worked. Could you tell us about the current scope that supporting actors have in the industry?

As you said, character actors have a lot of scope now. As far as I am concerned, I have grown with experience. When I started out with Second Show, there was an inherent fear because it was my first movie. I couldn’t focus on the acting or action continuity because I didn’t know about all those aspects. My only concern was to finish my dialogues. Now, I know where my scene comes in the sequence of the film and what is required of me. After having acted with people like Raju chettan, there’s no fear anymore.

Also, I do humour roles and it’s tough to pull off comedy. I am a very sensitive person and those are the type of characters that I want to do more of. I am trying for those, but the roles that are coming to me are more aligned to comedy. Recently, in Askar Ameer’s Eeyal, I had to do a scene where my character cries after a person dies. The entire set was moved by my performance and it gave me a lot of confidence that I can do such roles.

You are also playing a pivotal role in Arjun Ashokan’s Thattassery Koottam. What can you say about your role?

We have finished shooting for the movie and the entire post production work is over. It’s a theatrical release. I believe it’s a movie in which I will get noticed. A lot of people who have watched it lauded my performance. Arjun Ashokan, Ganapathy, Unni Rajan P Dev and I played the leads in the movie.

What are your upcoming films?

I am also part of Ottu, Std XE 99 Batch, Karnan Napolean Bhagath Singh and my friend Ansaj’s directorial that has Bibin George and Vishnu Unnikrishnan in the lead. I am also part of Midhun Manuel Thomas’ upcoming film. Earlier, because I was so passionate about acting, I used to take up any role that was offered to me. But now I want to be selective because I have made a few mistakes and that affects your career.

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