From short films to the big screen

Though he is only two films old, actor Renjit Shekhar Nair has already proven himself to be a talent to be reckoned with. It was through Rahul Riji Nair’s directorial debut Ottamuri Velicham that Renjit first made his big-screen entry. In the film, he played Deepak Parambol’s brother, a character with negative shades. In his second film, Dakini, he was seen in a relatively comical role, as the younger brother of the main villain played by Chemban Vinod Jose. Renjit will be seen next in Priyadarshan’s Marakkar and Venu Nair’s Jalasamadhi.

Before foraying into feature films, the IT professional was part of the short films, Malai Kofta, MJ, and Troll Life; a music video, Mounam Sollum Varthaikal; and a documentary, Human Boundaries — all directed by Rahul. “We both joined the same company on the same day. I’ve always wanted to be part of films, but at that time I couldn’t do anything about it. Rahul, on the other hand, was getting started with short films and it was Malai Kofta that proved to be a turning point for me. Human Boundaries also got us considerable exposure,” says Renjit.

On how he bagged the role in Marakkar, he says it was Revathy Sureshkumar who referred him to Priyadarshan after watching his performance in Dakini. “I’m appearing in two get-ups — a soldier and later, a commander. It’s not a big role, but I didn’t want to let go of the opportunity to work with Priyan sir and see Lalettan.”

Renjith is currently in the middle of filming Jalasamadhi (tentative title), in which he is sharing screen space with veteran Tamil actor MS Bhaskar. As the film is set in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, Renjit is required to converse in both Malayalam and Tamil. It was his performance in Ottamuri... that got him this part.

“The story revolves around a sugarcane factory in a remote Tamil Nadu village, on which the locals depend for their livelihood,” he says, adding, “It’s about a bizarre, age-old practice in which the sole breadwinner of a family is killed by his family members before he turns 60, enabling his son to take his job. I play Palani, a man who is trying to persuade his friend to kill his father (played by Bhaskar).”

The actor is all praise for Bhaskar, whom he calls a simple man. “It was his name that made me want to do this film. Working with him was an illuminating experience. His method is all about hijacking a scene with dialogue or performance. There is an emotional scene in the film, seeing which brought tears to the eyes of the actor who plays Bhaskar’s wife. When we work with actors like him, we are compelled to improve ourselves.”