Paranthu Po actor Aju Varghese: Length of my characters don’t matter to me | Exclusive

For Malayalam actor Aju Varghese, it is a double bonanza. When his recent OTT stint in Kerala Crime Files season 2 has been getting good reviews upon its release recently, he, who has appeared in nearly 150 films, will be marking his Tamil debut with Paranthu Po, an endearing film on the pipeline of release from director Ram. While in Kerala Crime Files 2, Aju plays a minor yet important role, in Paranthu Po, he is a supporting character, much like cog in the wheel that is both at the periphery yet significant.

Aju Varghese Interview: On Paranthu Po, screentime

Aju Varghese feels secure when he says the screentime of his characters were never something that bothered him. “I prefer characters which contribute to the journey of the story. For the length they come, never matters. In Paranthu Po, say I am there for 5-6 minutes, but when you take my role, it is important and contributes to many changes in the main characters’ lives. That is a contribution I value lot more than screentime,” he explains.

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For Aju Varghese, he has been one actor who couldn’t be boxed under one category, for he has aced roles from that of comedy to negative shade and even playing a protagonist’s friend. Off camera too, he has worked as assistant director on the sets of Jacobinte Swargarajyam, and served as producer and distributor for films like Love Action Drama and Saajan Bakery Since 1962.

On juggling between the various roles as artiste and producer, Aju explains the difference in his approach. “When I see it as an actor, I don’t ask for a script. I hear the overall story in under five minutes, and probably one liner of my character. My basic method is that I trust the director.” And Aju Varghese has a reason for his method, as he explains.

“I always say, that it is just another movie for me, but for them, either it is their first one or second. It is crucial for them than to me. I put the responsibility on them. But as a producer, you need to hear the full script, and there is no choice but to know where the money goes and keep track of budget.”

Why Aju Varghese chose not to produce

Aju Varghese mentions that he does not like to take up responsibilities apart from an actor. “When I tried production, I found it very tough. Take while doing Love Action Drama (in which he starred as well), I found doing production and acting very tough. So, when you do production, don’t act. Hence, I chose not to produce much because I enjoy acting and not anything else,” the actor in him reasons.

With Paranthu Po being Aju Varghese’s first Tamil film and a lot being talked about the difference in the sense and sensibilities of a Malayalam and Tamil film, Aju Varghese explains that there is no difference between working in both the languages.

“I have heard that someone like Dileesh Pothan sir has a pattern of working, which is more like Ram sir working. But that apart, it is just getting the language right. Ram sir improvises on the spot. But he will make it easy on us. So, I never found any difficulties for Paranthu Po,” he says as he concludes that his debut feature in Tamil was just as pleasant as working in any of his previous Malayalam projects.