Did you know: Kammattam’s leading man Sudev Nair began his acting career in Hollywood

A little over a decade ago, when Sudev Nair had just finished up at the Pune Film Institute, and was asking around for opportunities to act, he came across the line producer of a film, who indeed had an opening for a small role. At the time, Sudev had no idea what the film was, but auditioned for it. It was only after he was selected that the gravity of the situation hit him – he was going to be in a Hollywood production.

Sudev Nair was in a biographical sports drama

Sudev had bagged a minor role as a news anchor in Million Dollar Arm, a biographical sports drama based on the true story of baseball pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel who were discovered by sports agent JB Bernstein. “I could have asked for more money as remuneration if I’d known it was a Hollywood movie,” joked Sudev, while discussing his early days in cinema with Jango Spotted, as part of the promotions of his upcoming Malayalam web series, Kammattam .

Also read: Kammattam’s Sudev Nair: I was initially doubtful about the viability of shooting the series in 11-days only 

Interestingly, Sudev says that back in the day, he didn’t think it was a matter of pride that he’d got a small part in a Hollywood project. “Fresh from the Pune Film Institute, this was a time when I thought I was going to be the next big thing in cinema, giving the likes of Shah Rukh Khan competition. It is only after a couple of months that reality sinks in and you understand how difficult it is to catch a break,” he adds.

In those early days, Sudev has even acted as a dead body. “I was called for an episodic serial called PI and told that there was a role of a mathematician. That sounded interesting, a mathematician in a series called PI, so I thought it must be the central character and gave an audition,” he said. Sudev got selected, but it was only when he went to the set that he realized that PI was short for Private Investigator and that particular episode revolved around the murder of a mathematician. “The opening shot was of a dead body, with the rest of the narrative following the murder investigation. I was that dead body,” he adds.

In Kammattam, which is Z5’s first Malayalam original series, is a cop investigating an unnatural death, which he realizes is a homicide. The circumstances behind the murder, including a massive bank fraud are central to the plot, which, according to the makers was inspired by a real incident that occurred in Thrissur. The show will drop on Z5 (and on OTTplay Premium) on September 5.

FAQs

Q: What genre is Kammattam?

A: The upcoming Malayalam series Kammattam is a investigative thriller.

Q: Where to watch Malayalam's latest web series Kammattam?

A: Kammattam will be streaming on ZEE5 and OTTplay Premium from September 5.

Q: Where to watch Kerala Crime Files 2?

A: The sequel of Kerala Crime Files is accessible on JioHotstar and OTTplay Premium.