Aju Varghese: I now want to play characters I feel convinced about

Aju Varghese-Dhyan Sreenivasan are playing the leads in a light-hearted film, titled Nadhikalil Sundari Yamuna, written and directed by Vijesh Panathur and Unni Vellora. “It is a simple story, but there is a relatability to the characters, which I liked,” says the actor, about the film shot in Kannur. “There is a small message and it shows, in a way, how people are used in political games.”

It tells the story of two guys, Aju’s Vidyadharan and Kannan played by Dhyan, who are looking to get married. “But we are not each other’s wingmen and we were glad about that. We wanted to take a break from that partnership, which we’ve had previously. We are in different ‘friend groups’. The film very much conveys a feel of the rural Kannur region,” says Aju, adding the title adds to the ‘breezy charm of the movie’.

Aju says he enjoyed watching Dhyan play Kannan, with a different look and body language, and loved his mother’s character, played by Bhanumathi Payyanur. Music is by Arun Muraleedharan, Faisal Ali is the cinematographer.

Aju seems more reticent, compared to pre-pandemic days and the actor agrees, “Whereas earlier, I would sign most films that came my way, because I wanted to learn the craft, now I say a lot of ‘no’. I to be convinced enough about playing a character. How it does at the box office is, of course, not in my hands, but just as the audience today places some expectations on us, I want to respect that and choose good roles.”

He is set to appear on the first Malayalam OTT series, Kerala Crime Files, with Lal and helmed by June director Ahammed Khabeer. “There are a lot of brilliant talents around. I literally believe I got a foothold because they did not get opportunities. So, let them come forward. It will only take the Malayalam industry ahead, in terms of business and artistic value,” he says. Aju has interesting projects coming up, including 2018 “which is a piece of our history”, Tovino-starrer Ajayante Randam Moshanam, sci-fi film Gaganachari and Valatty. “These films feel like one-of-its-kind and gave me the opportunity to progress to different things,” says the actor.