Rifle Club actor Vineeth Kumar interview: ‘Aashiq Abu, the cinematographer, took me by surprise’ | EXCLUSIVE

Rifle Club, the action drama directed by Aashiq Abu, has already earned superhit status at the box office. The multi-starrer film, which features an ensemble star cast, impressed the cinephiles with its making and performances. Vineeth Kumar, the popular actor-filmmaker, played a pivotal role in Rifle Club, and his performance has highly impressed the cinephiles.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Vineeth Kumar extensively spoke about Rifle Club, becoming a part of Aashiq Abu’s multi-starrer, his shooting experiences, and much more. Read the excerpts from the chat here...

Interview with Rifle Club actor Vineeth Kumar

Becoming a part of Rifle Club

In his chat with OTTplay, Vineeth Kumar revealed that working with Aashiq Abu, Syam Pushkaran, and the team was the most exciting part for him about Rifle Club. “I’ve never worked with director Aashiq Abu before. I received a call from writer Suhas, who has previously worked with me and is also associated with Rifle Club as a co-writer, for the film. He asked if I would be interested in playing this character if dates are available,” recalled the actor-director.

“I was busy with the post-production of my directorial, back then. But I immediately said Yes, because I always wanted to work with Aashiq Abu, Syam Pushkaran, and their team,” further added Vineeth Kumar. “Some of my most favourite films of recent times are by this team. So, I was very happy when I received this offer from this. I just asked them about the basic details of my character in Rifle Club, but never asked about the story or my character’s place in it, before saying Yes to the project,” he revealed.

Also Read: Rifle Club star Darshana Rajendran: Had faith Malayalam cinema would give me a chance to be part of something bigger 

Shajahan in Rifle Club

According to Vineeth Kumar, the Rifle Club team narrated the film as the travel of his character, Shajahan. “Until I reached the location, I just had a basic idea about my character – a romantic hero from the 1990s, and his preparations to become an action hero. After I reached the location, writer Syam Pushkaran and Aashiq Abu moulded my character – especially my looks and body language,” recalled Vineeth Kumar.

“After I finished the first-day shoot, I asked them if I had been able to perform in the meter they expected, and their response was highly positive. Aashiq Abu and his team were very highly supportive, and their feedback charged me as a performer. Shajahan is undoubtedly one of the best characters I played in my career, and this was one of the best shooting experiences of my life,” stated the actor-filmmaker.

Also Read: Anurag Kashyap: Bollywood doesn’t have the courage to make Rifle Club, they are obsessed with box-office crores

Preparations for the role

Vineeth Kumar, who started his career as a child artist, and later transitioned into a leading man and then a filmmaker, stated that he has been fortunate to witness the different phases of Malayalam cinema. All these memorable experiences contributed to his performance as Shajahan, a romantic hero from the 1990s, in Rifle Club.

“I’ve interacted with many leading stars from a very young age, as I started my career as a child artist. All those elements might have contributed to my performance in the film,” remarked the actor. However, Vineeth Kumar confirmed that he did not prepare extensively to play his role in Rifle Club, as he believes that characters should be formed organically, once the actor starts performing.

Working with Aashiq Abu, the cinematographer

The actor-filmmaker, who has been a part of the Malayalam film industry for the last three and a half decades, stated that two factors excited him the most when it comes to Rifle Club. Interestingly, Vineeth Kumar, who was all excited to join hands with Aashiq Abu and team, was taken by surprise, when he got to know that the filmmaker himself was handling the cinematography of the film.

“Aashiq Abu handling the cinematography himself, was the most exciting factor about Rifle Club, for me. Even though he has previously shot a film named Lovely, it is not released yet. So, I was quite curious to know how he was going to shoot the film. Aashiq is an amazing technician, who has created an identity for all his films. But all those films were shot by other cinematographers. So, here, I was excited to see how is he going to shoot this film,” revealed Vineeth Kumar.

“When I first reached the sets, I thought Aashiq Abu might be working with an operating cameraman for the film. But I was wrong. Aashiq prefers to shoot everything himself, even if it is the crane shots. He handled the main camera himself (it was a two-camera shoot set-up). Later, I conveyed my excitement on the same to Aashiq Abu, and asked him how he managed to crack this new role. Interestingly, he revealed that he has been preparing to take up the cinematographer’s role for quite some time,” recalled the Rifle Club actor.

Getting the shots rights

Interestingly, Vineeth Kumar also narrated how director Aashiq Abu conveyed it, when the artists got the shots right. “Aashiq has the habit of checking every shot in the monitor, as he shoots the films himself. So, I never asked him for feedback after my shots, instead, I just observed his reactions. Since most of my scenes have a touch of humour, he will just smile looking at the monitor, and I will get my feedback. Later, I will ask Syam Pushkaran if the performance was okay, and his positive reactions made me happy,” the actor narrated.

“Syam once jokingly said that Aashiq Abu has become more unpredictable as a filmmaker, as he shot the film, himself. Earlier, it was easy to grasp what was in his mind for a particular scene, when he narrated it to the DOP. But now, he has been constantly surprising his team with his moves. Aashiq, is indeed, a brilliant technician,” further added Vineeth Kumar.

When Rifle Club became a ‘Friends Club’

Vineeth Kumar described the shooting of Rifle Club as a truly memorable experience, as the cast members literally formed a ‘Friends Club’ on the sets. The popular actor, who has been a part of many ensemble films right from the beginning of his acting career, stated that he was glad to spend time with actors like Dileesh Pothan, Vijayaraghavan, Surabhi Lakshmi, Suresh Krishna, and others, on the sets.

He stated that listening to actor-director Raffi’s story was the most entertaining part of their break times. Vineeth Kumar, who stated that this energy reflected to its fullest on the big screens, further added that the cast members are still very much in touch through their WhatsApp group, which they formed during the shooting.

Favourite performances in Rifle Club

Vineeth Kumar who stated that Rifle Club has a detailed screenplay that clearly establishes every single character, stated that it is tough to pick one favourite performance from the film. However, the actor-filmmaker stated that Dileesh Pothan, as Avaran, surprised him at some moments.

“Each and every actor has done a brilliant job. But Dileesh Pothan’s performance as Avaran was especially memorable. He embodied the character’s essence throughout the film brilliantly, and I texted him after watching Rifle Club for the second time. Especially the humour parts, and the scene in which Unnimaya’s character announces her pregnancy, was exceptional,” stated the actor-filmmaker.

Malayalam cinema’s journey in 2025

“Malayalam cinema has a brilliant bunch of writers and technicians, right from its beginning. That is the reason why the other language industries keenly observe the films we make. After directors like Bharathan and Padmarajan created content-driven films for the longest time, we went into an era of commercial cinema for some time. But now, experiments are being made in the industry yet again, and it is very exciting. The audiences are also open towards accepting experiments in all genres, especially after the pandemic. I welcome this change, and it excites me so much,” remarked Vineeth Kumar as he spoke about Malayalam cinema’s future.

New projects

Even though Vineeth Kumar refrained from revealing more about his future projects, he confirmed that he is planning to be more active in the acting field with some exciting projects. The actor-filmmaker is also simultaneously working on the script of his upcoming directorial, which stars a leading actor in Malayalam cinema as the protagonist. The project will be announced at the right time.