Joju George: I am thrilled about my upcoming films with brilliant young Malayalam filmmakers

Joju George is having the best year of his career so far. The actor’s performances in Martin Prakkat’s Nayattu, Karthik Subbaraj’s Jagame Thandhiram and most recently in Mahesh Narayanan’s Malik have been lauded by the audience and critics alike. But this is just the tip of the iceberg as there are more than 10 projects with him that are awaiting release. 

While Joju has a long list of upcoming films with established directors such as Rajeev Ravi’s Thuramukham and Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Churuli, the actor says that he is most excited about his projects with young filmmakers. 

“Right now, I am working with a lot of new filmmakers,” Joju tells OTTplay. “There’s a big bunch of brilliant youngsters who are ready to make their mark in Malayalam cinema; they are well-trained and know exactly the kind of movies that they want to make. My forthcoming associations are with some of them and I am thrilled about that.”

One such film is Peace, which is directed by Sanfeer K. “It’s a fresh movie, I play a totally different character and the making is again something I have not been part of before,” he says. Joju is also part of June director Ahammed Kabeer’s Madhuram, Kamal KM’s Pada, Akhil Marar's Oru Thathwika Avolakanam and Domin D'Silva's Star.

Meanwhile, on his upcoming Thuramukham, which also has Nivin Pauly and Indrajith Sukumaran, he says, “I was excited about working with Rajeevettan because he has his own pattern of making films. I also play the main character in his next movie, which will go on floors soon.”

Joju also admits that he seems to have cracked the formula of enjoying the work, even as the number of projects that he is part of has soared recently. “I am now being offered more lead roles. But what I look forward to now is working with exciting directors. It’s a trick that I figured out. When you work with good filmmakers, you enjoy the process too. Consequently, you learn and grow. If a big director offers me a small character, I would agree,” he concludes.