Bengaluru-based theatre actor Vivek Vijayakumaran makes his film debut with Malayalam political thriller Pada

One of Bengaluru’s prominent theatrepersons Vivek Vijayakumaran is making his film debut with a Malayalam political thriller, titled Pada , in which he will be seen in the role of IPS officer Sachin Aggarwal. Written and directed by Kamal KM, the movie is set for its theatrical release on March 10.

Watch the teaser here

“Pada is an important film, based on real events that took place in Palakkad in the late 1990s. It’s a story waiting to be told, and I consider myself fortunate to be part of it. Shot in different parts of Kerala, the film boasts a striking ensemble cast including senior actors both from the film and theatre fraternity,” says Vivek, whose recent stage outings included Bali: The Sacrifice, an adaptation of Girish Karnad’s Hittina Hunja; Chanakya Vyas’ Jhund and Our Theatre Collective’s Adhura.

Giving a peek into how he landed the film role, Vivek says, “Even though I also write and direct plays, acting is what I love doing the most. That said, I never planned to pursue acting in movies in particular. It was my friend, assistant director Pranav Raj, who insisted that I should audition for the role in Pada, and I decided to go for it. Fortunately, they liked my work and I became a part of this project. Incidentally, I am also a native of Palakkad. But the irony is that in the film, my character is a Hindi-speaking north Indian, who is also well-versed in Malayalam. So, I had to speak Malayalam like how somebody from that part of the country would speak.”

The stellar cast - including actors like Prakash Raj, Dileesh Pothan, Joju George, Vinayakan, Arjun Radhakrishnan and Kunchacko Boban - is the high point of this project, according to Vivek. “The warmth and love that Kamal and other people on the set showed toward a newcomer like me made it conducive and easy for me to work with the stalwarts. The director was open to suggestions, which, in turn, gave me the opportunity to understand my character better and absorb the nuances of acting in a film,” he elaborates.

Besides feature film and theatre, Vivek has also ventured into short films. Onset, the actor’s first short, featuring Urvashi HV, is currently making the festival rounds. During the pandemic, he was also part of experimental, digital projects including Udo, Do Machaliyan and Pyaade.

*Reema Gowalla is an independent arts and culture journalist, who mostly writes about theatre and independent cinema, and sometimes also delves into culinary heritage.