I got over 53 offers after Su From So, but accepted only nine: Shaneel Gautham

Following the massive success of Su From So, Shaneel Gautham — fondly known as Ravi anna — found himself flooded with film offers. But instead of rushing into multiple projects, the actor says he chose to be selective about his next move. “Having just wrapped up JP Thuminad’s (Su From So director) film, I’m now back to full-fledged work,” Shaneel shares. “Su From So changed the lives of many of us in the team. In the first few months after the film released, I got more than 53 offers. But I only accepted nine of them,” he says.

Among the projects he picked, is the film he is currently shooting for. “The story thread is by Uday Mehta and I have co-written it with Chandra Mohan, who is also directing the film. We started writing it in October and completed it only in January,” he says. The shoot is already underway in and around Mangaluru. “It’s once again a fun family drama. We’ve kept it simple and rooted, without any unnecessary frills,” Shaneel adds.
‘I will always represent the common man’

The actor believes the overwhelming response to Ravi anna came from how relatable the character felt to audiences. “I don’t think any character of mine has connected with people the way Ravi anna did. None of us expected this kind of love. Maybe it’s because he was such a common man,” he says. While Shaneel clarifies that he cannot keep repeating the same character, he says he wants to retain that emotional essence in all his future projects. “Just because I’ve received this encouragement, I’m not going to suddenly become a mass hero. I will always represent the common man in my films,” he says.

‘A film needs soul more than scale’

Reflecting on the success of Su From So, Shaneel says audiences connected deeply with its characters and everyday situations. “Everyone has a Ravi anna in their life or a funny baava in their neighbourhood. The film may have been small in scale, but it had soul. People could see someone they knew in those characters,” he explains. According to him, filmmakers today often focus too much on mounting productions while overlooking emotional depth. “Somewhere along the line, filmmakers became more concerned about scale and forgot the soul of a story. Keeping that soul intact is what makes a film relatable. That’s what ultimately brings people to theatres — and that’s the real cheat code to success,” he says.
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