SAIJU KURUP THE MAN ON & OFF-CAMERA
Cochin Herald|January - February 2020
Saiju Kurup has been a name that has been associated with most of the hit films of the last few years. Over the course of his 14-year career, with his debut playing the protagonist role in Mayookham to playing Johnny Peringodan in his latest super-hit Driving Licence- he has constantly proven his versatility, seemingly switching between genres with ease. There have been roles he has breathed life into- he believes that Trivandrum Lodge was that turning point in his career. His personification of Arakkal Abu in the Aadu movie series was when he, for the first time, felt magic on screen.
SAIJU KURUP THE MAN ON & OFF-CAMERA

He tells us at Cochin Herald about all this and more about his acting career, challenges, upcoming projects and his personal life as part of this interview with Neha Vinod.

Saiju Kurup: The Actor

What makes Saiju Kurup- the actor?

There are a few principles I follow. The first is to obey the filmmaker and the second, is punctuality. I stick to whatever time I’m given. If there’s any problem with my performance, I cover it up by being punctual. The filmmakers end up thinking, “Oh, at least this guy comes on time, so let’s look past his underperformance.”

I have been lucky to be a part of some really great movies last year. Last year, I had the maximum releases with 11 to 12 movies coming out, of which 8 of them were shot in 2018 only.

What is your personal favourite performance?

To pinpoint one character of mine would be difficult. If I really had to pick one, I believe my best character was Unnikeshavan from Mayookham, my first movie. I got to play two variations of characters in a single role and I had the three greatest singers of the Malayalam film industry playback singing for me- MG Sreekumar, Yesudas and P Jayachandran. It was also directed by the legendary filmmaker Hariharan. What more could I ask for?

Over the course of your 14-year career, what has been your most memorable experience?

Eight years after my first movie, I got my big break in Trivandrum Lodge, directed by V K Prakash and written by Anoop Menon.

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