Kerala Crime Files fame Arjun Radhakrishnan: Jhund was a dream come true moment for me

Arjun Radhakrishnan has been steadily building a portfolio for himself in Malayalam cinema, with films like Pada, Ullozhukku and Kannur Squad to his credit. And while his roles in these films were well appreciated, his latest marks his Malayalam web series debut. Arjun plays one of the lead roles in the second season of Kerala Crime Files, which dropped on OTT a week ago. The show, though, is not his first tryst with web series, having played a young APJ Abdul Kalam in Rocket Boys.

One of his earliest acting gigs, though, is one that he’ll never forget – Arjun played Amitabh Bachchan’s son in Jhund, a sports drama based on the life of Vijay Barse, founder of NGO Slum Soccer. Although the film was not a commercial success, Arjun says it was a dream come true moment for him getting to work with Amitabh Bachchan, even though his role was limited.

Also read: Kerala Crime Files S2 actor Arjun Radhakrishnan on playing his first lead role: 'There's a definite arc' 

Speaking to Club FM about the reception his character SI Noble from Kerala Crime Files 2 got, Arjun was asked about working with Amitabh Bachchan. He said, “Jhund was a project that came to me early on in my acting career. When I told my friends that I was going to be playing Amitabh Bachchan’s son, everyone was excited. For me, it was a dream come true moment.”

On the set of Jhund, he reminisces, except Amitabh Bachchan, the cast and crew were all newbies. “Hence, the interactions were minimal; you could just see him from a distance. I did have one conversation with him, when there was a break to adjust the lights. Honestly, when he sat next to me, I had no clue what to ask him also. I didn’t want it to be a fanboy moment, because that is what everyone does. Instead, we had random conversations, including about architecture, something about the US and some other unconnected stuff,” he said.

Also read: Kerala Crime Files Season 2’s Arjun Radhakrishnan: Playing a positive lead role was a big relief 

What struck Arjun during the making of Jhund, though, was how Amitabh rarely sat in his caravan. The team was, apparently, shooting under extreme weather conditions, at 43-35 degrees, and Amitabh would come on time and be well prepared for his scenes. Often, he’d also not return to his caravan and instead pull up a chair in that heat, without even the cover of an umbrella.