Arjun Radhakrishnan: 'Pada’ actually opened a new world for me - Exclusive!

It was not mere violence that the four members of ‘Ayyankali Pada’ wanted when they barged into the Palakkad collector’s office and held him as a hostage during the year 1996. Their act was an outcry of the tribals who were restricted their own rights and 25 years later, when the director Kamal KM made a film out of this real event, he is actually turning the mirror to the society and is showing that nothing has changed or will ever change unless we protest for the rights of tribal society.
ETimes reached out to the actor Arjun Radhakrishnan, who played the role of Palakkad collector Ajay Sripad Dange in the film which marks his acting debut in the Malayalam film industry.
The ‘Jhund’ actor was all excited about getting to play a pivotal role in Kamal KM’s directorial venture. “ I got a call to act in ‘Pada’ through the assistant director Pranav while I was acting in the Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Jhund’. Actually, I applied for the role of SP Sachin Aggarwal in the film and Kamal ettan (Kamal KM) asked me to try for the collector’s role. So that's how I ended up playing Ajay Sripad Dange in ‘Pada’.” Arjun Radhakrishnan said.

Speaking about the preparations that he went through for the film ‘Pada’, the actor opened up by saying, “ Kamal Ettan had already met all the real-life characters and had a real knowledge on every matter regarding the event. I took references mostly from reading books and watching videos related to the incident and after getting a basic understanding I immediately rushed off to my friend’s father who is an IAS officer in Bombay. I spent about two to three days in his office and learned the functioning of a Government office and also gained a better understanding of the day-to-day life of Government employees.

Arjun Radhakrishnan further added, “ Also, Kamal Ettan had asked me to put on some weight so that I would look older which would be apt for the character. So I decided to put on some weight and increase almost 10 more kilos. That's when the makers of ‘Jhund’ decided to kickstart the shoot of the climax sequences of the film which were temporarily stopped due to elections. I had no time to reduce my weight within that limited time span. If you watch the climax portions of ‘Jhund’ you could see a bit of difference in my overall body shape.”

The actor later shared his experience of working with the entire crew of the film. “ All of my co-actors were already involved with the shoot even before I joined the sets. Although I had a limited time, I came well prepared, and since the entire movie mostly takes place within a limited setting, there was a huge scope of interaction between the casts and crew of the film. Kunchacko Boban is such a disciplined and humble actor and I looked at Dileesh Pothan sir as both a director and an actor. Whenever they give me advice or any suggestions, it feels like they are saying it out of years of experience, and it's really good to receive such suggestions from them. Especially when I am just starting out in the industry”

Arjun Radhakrishnan was all excited to be part of ‘Pada’ as he said, “ After receiving all these positive responses from the audience, my very first feeling is satisfaction. To be part of such a well-made and terrific film is something that I only can imagine. I never thought that I would do a Malayalam movie and ‘Pada’ actually opened a new world for me.”
Meanwhile, Arjun Radhakrishnan is making his second outing in the Malayalam film industry by sharing screen space with Tovino Thomas, and Basil Joseph for the upcoming untitled film which is directed by Vineeth Kumar. The film also features the actors Darshana Rajendran, Sanchana Natarajan, and Arjun Lal in pivotal roles.