PremiumExclusive! Here’s what Indrajith Sukumaran said when he was approached to play a police officer in Night Drive
The Malayalam actor has a slew of movies coming up, including Pathaam Valavu, Theerppu and Mohandas, in which he will be seen as a police officer
Last Updated: 09.08 AM, Mar 14, 2022
By the time, scriptwriter Abhilash Pillai had approached Indrajith Sukumaran for M Padmakumar’s Pathaam Valavu and Vysakh’s Night Drive, the actor had then done four consecutive movies in which he had played a police officer. These include Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup, Vishnu Vishal’s Mohandas, Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Theerppu and Anuradha Crime No. 59/2019.
But there’s a reason the actor has now become the first choice to play a cop. He can essay various shades of a character while also bringing in the nuances to differentiate of them, says Abhilash.
“We first approached him for Pathaam Valavu when Indraettan had decided that he wouldn’t do anymore police roles,” says the scriptwriter. “But we asked him if he could hear the narration. He listened to the story till the interval and told me, ‘I will do this’. That’s because the film is not just a police story, we also explore the person’s life.”
Indrajith’s turn as the arrogant but upright cop CI Benni Moopen in Night Drive, which released last week in theatres, has been widely appreciated. However, his first reaction again was to decline the role.
“We were casting for Night Drive while the shoot of Pathaam Valavu was on. CI Benni Moopen was a pivotal character and Vysakh chettan suggested Indraettan’s name. I told him he had decided not to do police roles for some time. But Vysakh chettan said, ‘That’s alright. Why don’t just narrate the story anyway’,” says Abhilash.
As soon as the writer hinted Indrajith about the role, his response was, “A cop role again?” Abhilash, however, as him to take a call after the narration. “I told him the story over the phone and once I was done, he asked, ‘When are we beginning?’” says the scriptwriter. “Both the characters are entirely different. Pathaam Valavu shows his character’s emotional journey while in Night Drive, the cop is more of a firebrand.”
While Night Drive, which also has Roshan Mathew and Anna Ben in lead roles, has got generally positive reviews, Pathaam Valavu, which has Suraj Venjaramoodu playing the other protagonist, is expected to release within this month.