Exclusive! Saiju Kurup on Mohanlal, Jeethu Joseph’s 12th Man: All 12 characters are pivotal to the story

Mollywood actor Saiju Kurup is on a roll these days. Not only is his 100th movie Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan is gearing up for its release later this month, the actor is also part of some exciting films this year including Unni Mukundan’s Meppadiyan, Mohanlal’s 12th Man, Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Theerpu and Dhyan Sreenivasan’s Prakashan Parakatte.

The Mohanlal-starrer though could be his biggest release, with the movie marking Jeethu Joseph’s next collaboration with the superstar after Drishyam 2. Much like that film, 12th Man too will be an OTT release.

While Drishyam 2 revolved around Mohanlal’s character, 12th Man is a multi-starrer featuring 12 important characters played by Saiju Kurup, Unni Mukundan, Priyanka Nair, Aditi Ravi, Sshivada, G Chandhunadh, Anusree, Anu Mohan, Anu Sithara, Leona Lishoy and Rahul Madhav.

In a recent interview with OTTplay, Saiju talked about his part of the movie and what enticed him to take up the role. “In 12th Man, all the characters are pivotal to the story. Ultimately, the thing is to entertain people and to do that, we have to have a good script,” he says.

Ask him about doing multi-starrers and he says, “I rarely do multi-starrers. If you look at Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan, it hardly has stars. I believe if the script is good, there will be an entertainment value that passes to the audience. I don’t try to prioritise a multi-starrer or a star-driven movie over anything else.”

Talking about the film, Jeethu had earlier told us, “The movie tells the story of 12 people. About 90% of the movie is set in a single location and the rest is outside. 12th Man is a mystery that compares to the likes of films based on Agatha Christie’s books.”

Meanwhile, Saiju will next be seen in Meppadiyan, which is set to release in theatres on January 14. While Upacharapoorvam Gunda Jayan has been set for a January 28 release, it remains to be seen if the film will hit theatres on that date, with its makers already deferring the release of Salute from January 14 owing to the COVID-19 situation in the country.

Also read: Exclusive! Unni Mukundan on Meppadiyan: I’ve survived through challenges and producing is just phase 2 for me