Nivin Pauly, “It Took Me  Months To  Get Out Of Playing A Gay Character”

Malayalam  Superstar  Nivin Pauly  is a  rage  in  his home-state Kerala with a fan-following to rival that  of the biggest celluloid stars  of the world.

 For Nivin it was a big risk to  play a gay character in his latest  film Moothon.

But  a risk well worth  taking, says Nivin.  “As  an actor I’m hungry for  new experiences. It took me  no time at all to say yes to my character Akbar in Moothon. To me  it didn’t matter whether the character is straight or gay, white  or  grey…Akbar was a challenge  any  actor would love to take  up.”

Didn’t it bother Nivin that his fans would be shocked to see him go gay? “I didn’t think about anything  except the  challenge of  playing the character. I was sure my fans would go with my  convictions. I surrendered completely to my director Geetu Mohandas’ vision.”

Getting  into  the dark violent  traumatized character  was  easier than getting  out of it.

Nivin  reveals  it took him months to   get rid of  the ghosts that haunted his character in  Moothon. “I  took a  break after  the film to spend time with my newly-born daughter. Being  around  her helped me  retain  my sanity.For months  I was just  home playing with  my child, feeling normal.”

Was  it tough exchanging those  passionate glances with his male  co-star?

Laughs  Nivin, “Not at all. Roshan Matthews and I were  very comfortable with one  another. When we were looking at one another we were not looking at each other’s gender. We were looking at  love.We wanted the audience  to see two people  in love, regardless  of  their  gender ”

Nivin admits  it has  not been easy returning to playing conventional parts after Moothon. “It  has prompted me  to  explore the  complexities  of the human character. There is  love and violence, compassion and rage  within  all of us. What comes out depends on what we tap. This is the spirit my character in  Moothon  represents.”

Is Nivin  part  of Geetu Mohan’s next  film? “Let’s see if  there is  any  role for me. After Moothon we have to  work on something that challenges  both of us.”