Actor Sudev Nair on ‘Kammattam’ and the other roles coming his way

Antonio George, the cop in the Malayalam series Kammattam, streaming on Zee5, has a quiet air about him. This is a man who means business, there is no excessive flair or punchy dialogues. That was, says actor Sudev Nair, his way “of keeping the character real, keeping it engaging without resorting to gimmicks. With stillness and being present in the moment while essaying the character.”

This was also the first time he confesses he has got a character ‘like this, without any gimmickry’. It gave him the space to present a role without extra crutches, with confidence. 

With Kammattam, Sudev, who made his acting debut in the 2014 Hindi film, Gulaab Gang, proves that he can shoulder a lead role with ease. While the series has met a mixed response, Sudev’s performance in the Shan Thulasidharan directorial has come in for praise. Kammattam is based on financial fraud by members of co-operative bank.   

When asked how much of the director’s input he had while essaying the role, Sudev says, “I just went with the flow of the character. Shan and I had discussed the screenplay and the character beforehand, so I had an idea of what the character was to be.” Shan’s conviction that he had the capacity to pull off the character, drew Sudev to Kammattam. Though this is the actor’s first Malayalam web series, he has been part of a Hindi series, Jengabaru Curse (2023).     

That the series was shot over a span of 11 days was not a factor in Sudev processing/presenting the character. “These are all professionals, who know what to do and how to go about it. Things easily fell into place. I would, however, check with the director and the DoP about the tempo of the character, whether it was getting monotonous. I wanted to keep that in check.”

However, despite the even tone of his character, he did mix things up especially during the interrogation scenes where Antonio switches gears with a sudden flash of a smile or a cold stare. “That was a good opportunity for me to bring in the energy differences as the mood changes. I was able to do that organically with the interrogation scenes in order to draw attention.” He confesses that there were occasions where he had to resist the temptation of doing something a tad gimmicky for effect. 

His next, much-anticipated outing is in Geethu Mohandas’ Toxic: A Fairytale for Grown Ups. All he can or will say about it is that “I am one of the primary characters in it.” Another of his releases will be the Malayalam film Udumbanchola Vision.       

After 11 years the actor, who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor (2014) for My Partner, is finally getting his due in terms of the roles coming his way. He agrees that though it has taken time, he is finally getting acceptance and affection from the audience. “The roles are getting more substantial. I am consciously avoiding roles similar to those I have already done, steering clear of them to prevent being typecast.”

Kammattam is streaming on Zee5