Dasara actor Shine Tom Chacko: Had to ensure my character’s continuity for 10 months while doing 10 other films

Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko’s rise as a versatile character actor had landed him a plum role in Nani’s Dasara, which is one of the biggest releases in Telugu this year. The Kurup and Thallumaala actor had shot for the Srikanth Odela directorial over a period of 10 months, during which he had to shuttle between his Malayalam projects and the big-budget Telugu movie.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Shine opens up about how he goes about choosing his roles and what he’s managed to do the past few years that has seen him become one of the most sought-after actors in the Malayalam film industry.

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“Be it Kurup or Bheeshma Parvam, all these characters had come to me; it wasn’t something that I had picked,” he says. “I try to take up most of the roles that come to me, even if I am short of time or my remuneration is only limited. As an artiste, you need work and that’s something I am always hungry for. Acting is something that I enjoy doing, so I don’t believe in being choosy. You never know how long this will last, so you have to work as much as you can.”

The actor, however, says that off late he has tried to ensure that he doesn’t repeat his performances, an aspect that can be tough while signing several films a year on the trot. “What I do keep in mind is that after I do a character like Bhasi Pillai in Kurup, instead of choosing a role that is even better, I try to select a character that is entirely different. But that’s not something that happens every time,” he explains. “Also, the line-up of releases is different from the order in which I am doing the films. As in, the film I did after Bheeshma Parvam might not be the movie that was released after Bheeshma Parvam. So, I try to ensure that I don’t do similar characters anymore.”

Also read: Exclusive! Shine Tom Chacko: Good screenplays give birth to unique characters with scope to perform 

Though Shine stresses that he tries to steer clear of similar mannerisms of his previous characters in his films, he admits that “sometimes, a bit of those creep in because ultimately, it’s the same person enacting all these roles”. “I had been shooting for Dasara for 10 months and during the intervals was when I would do my Malayalam movies. So, I had to maintain that continuity for 10 months and at the same time, play 10 different characters in Malayalam films,” he adds.

Shine, who is also part of G Marthandan’s upcoming film Maharani and Aashiq Abu's Neelavelicham, says that character actors don’t have the luxury of doing just one movie a year. “Unlike big stars in Bollywood or other industries, we can’t concentrate on just one movie and so, we can’t bring in a huge difference between every character we play. But again, probably those stars would have been astounded by the performances of our actors such as Mohanlal, Mammootty and Nedumudi Venu who used to do close to 30 movies a year. Even though there weren’t too many differences in terms of looks, their characters varied due to the story, circumstances and emotions. I grew up watching those and it’s easier for me to get into that mind space as a performer,” says Shine.

Dasara, which also has Keerthy Suresh, is set to hit theatres across the country on March 30.