'I wasn't nervous about acting in Varane Avashyamund'

He might have found overnight fame, but 12-year-old Sarvajith Santhosh Sivan is back in his world, where he is at peace with his pets -- a chicken named KFC, fish, cats, and insects.

Playing Karthik, the annoying and playful little brother of Dulquer Salman in Anoop Sathyan's Varane Avashyamund, Sarvatjith just wowed hearts. But cinema is yet to carry him away.

Quizzed on how his friends reacted, Sarvatjith says, "It has been great the day after the movie released. My teachers and friends have been excited for me, but otherwise, nothing changed. Things are back to normal".

It was Anoop Sathyan's quest to find a child actor that ended in Sarvajith. The director wasn't aware that Sarvajith is the son of renowned cinematographer/director Santhosh Sivan when he first approached him.

"When Anoop approached us, we weren't sure whether Sarvajith would do it. I told Anoop to talk to him," says Deepa Santhosh, Sarvajith's mother. "He told Sarvajith that he wanted KFC in the movie, and tactfully got Sarvajith too."

Once he was in, Sarvajith was prepared to play Karthik. "I loved acting in school plays and wasn't nervous about performing in front of the camera -- just that it was bigger and extensive than plays," says Sarvajith.

He remembers being 'chilled' on the sets with Dulquer Salman. "I never met him until then. He would always tease me. I spent over three weeks on the sets and it was fun," says Sarvajith.

He may hail from a filmy family, but is Sarvajith yet to give acting a serious thought? "Not at the moment. I have decided that I want to study more about insects. Entomology is my ultimate passion. The acting was fun but now it is all about studies," he adds.

Post the movie's release, Sarvajith's mother says her phone has been ringing non-stop. "We didn't tell anyone because it was a small role and didn't give it importance. But this was beyond our imagination. Now, he is back to his world of animals," she says.