Dhoomam actor Vineeth: At this transitional phase of my career, I wanted to do something substantial, noteworthy

Malayalam actor Vineeth, who is into his 38th year of acting career, views the current set of movies as part of his transitional phase from a younger mould to more veteran characters. With Akhil Sathyan’s Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum, the actor has already created an indelible mark in this new phase in his career and he is now set to solidify this with his turn in Pawan Kumar’s Dhoomam, which also stars Fahadh Faasil, Roshan Mathew and Aparna Balamurali.

In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Vineeth talks about teaming up with Fahadh in back-to-back movies, his experience working with the new-generation filmmakers and more.

You are perceived probably as one of the calmest actors in Malayalam industry, and so the two scenes of outburst in Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum had an amplified effect. How has the feedback been for your role as Riyas in the movie?

The feedback has been phenomenal. When I read the script, the bonding between Ummachi and Riyas touched me. In reality, there are so many households like that. When this son finally surrenders, he almost becomes a baby in front of her, showing the power of motherhood. So, the scene encapsulates that bonding between the mother and son. When Akhil narrated the sequences between Riyas and his mother, I was hooked.

Also read: Dhoomam director Pawan Kumar: Fahadh Faasil isn’t bothered if a film will maintain his star value 

I am a director’s actor. I completely surrender to the filmmaker’s vision and if the director is a master, it’s better for me because I just have to go there as a plain slate. For instance, when you work with Hariharan sir and MT sir’s films, you don’t have to prepare; they will mould you. It was the same here. Akhil is a young and enterprising director, who has conviction. More than hard-working, he is passionate about his work and he comes from an excellent school of craft under Sathyan Anthikad. Of course, it was such a delight to work with Fahadh Faasil.

You will be seen with him again in Dhoomam.

Yes, I would say it’s a double bonus for me. We would be shooting for Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum and then he would say, ‘Ok, chetta, I will see you in Hyderabad’, where Dhoomam was shot.

Also read: Dhoomam 2023: Release date, trailer, plot, cast, budget, behind the scenes, OTT partner and more 

How different is your character in Dhoomam compared to Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum?

They are both on two extreme ends of the spectrum. Pawan Kumar has clearly defined my character Praveen, who is a corporate head in the movie. It’s also the first time I am sporting a salt-and-pepper look. I had been offered many older roles such as father before, but I was particular that if I was going to do such a role, especially because it’s a transitional phase in my career, it had to be substantial so people would notice. It could have been even one scene.

That’s when Dhoomam was offered to me. Initially, it wasn’t this salt-and-pepper look. Just before the shoot, we had a costume trail with all the executive attire. They had sent the photos to Pawan and he told me that I look very young in this, and how about having some grey hair. That’s how we landed on this look.

It was a challenging role and I was excited to work with Pawan too. He’s a genius when it comes to his craft, he makes things happen through his craft.

It’s not easy for actors who have been in the industry for almost four decades to adapt to different styles. You have worked with stalwarts such as Hariharan, Bharathan and Padmarajan and are now also collaborating with new-gen filmmakers such as Akhil Sathyan and Pawan Kumar.

You have to change with the times. The pattern that we worked in, is still followed by directors like Akhil – they divide shots, take only what’s required. They don’t shoot blindly. Back then, film rolls were expensive and so every shot had to be rehearsed before going for the take. The director knows exactly what’s required; if it’s a close-up frame, he would clearly know the span of the close-up.

Now, after it became digital, filmmaking has a different grammar. There are so many options – you can have different angles, close-ups and everything is decided on the editing table. That’s one way of filmmaking. But the problem with that is if the filmmaker doesn’t have conviction or doesn’t know what exactly he wants, so much time is wasted, because what could be completed in a day could take a week.

So, all that depends on the conviction of the director and how well-prepared they are. I have been fortunate to work with young directors who know what they want. You can know that when a director narrates the script itself. It was an absolute pleasure working with both Akhil and Pawan.

For Dhoomam, Hombale Films had produced it. It’s an honour for an actor to be associated with such a production house, which is making history not just in box office. Kantara was such a brilliant film; the theme, its ritualistic elements, the characters and performances were all mind-blowing. It was definitely an honour to be part of their first Malayalam movie, which stars a pan-Indian actor like Fahadh.