Jayam Ravi: Kamal sir inspired me to take up risky films

After donning the khaki in Thani Oruvan, Bogan, Adanga Maru, and Miruthan, Jayam Ravi returned to the big screens as a cop in last week's release, Iraivan. Expressing his confidence in staying away from being typecast, a confident Ravi says, "At the beginning of my career, I was better known for my romance films like Santhosh Subramanian and Something Something. Back then, I wasn't questioned for doing too many romantic films because every film and character was different. Similarly, every film as a police officer is different for me."

In Ahmed's Iraivan, Ravi plays a ruthless encounter specialist who often takes justice into his own hands. "In fact Ahmed sir was clear that I should not don the khaki anywhere in the film, and he wrote the character to ensure that," says Ravi.

In Iraivan, Ravi's Arjun is behind the 'smiley killer' Bramma, who abducts and brutally murders young girls and then goes on to display their severed body parts in public places. The actor says that he needed to understand the psychology of his character first. "All the characters in the film are grey, and all of us think and act like psychopaths. So, I needed to understand why Arjun behaves the way he does," he explains, further taking the example of his previous cop film, Adanga Maru. "In the Karthik Thangavel directorial, my character faces a linear graph. He takes justice into his own hands only after he faces injustice. But in Iraivan, Arjun is the way he is - stubborn and unpredictable - from the very first scene."

Jayam Ravi's efforts to understand his character did not stop there. "I took some training from a few real-life encounter specialists for my character. Of course, I had to unlearn a few things from their life and learn a few other things to play ACP Arjun," he reveals.

Jayam Ravi's Iraivan comes soon after the success of Ponniyin Selvan 2, a film watched by people of all ages. On the contrary, Iraivan is a film with an A-certificate, owing to the gruesome and gory violence portrayed in the film. The decision to be a part of such a film is quite tough for someone like Ravi, whose films have always catered to family audiences.

Opening up about having a restricted audience for the film, he shares, "When I started as a hero, my fans would have been young children who could not watch films with an A certificate. Over these years, they have been my loyal fans, and today I have made a film for those fans, who are all now grown up."

Further adding that he wanted to stay true to the genre, he says he took inspiration from Kamal Haasan. "At the peak of his career, Kamal sir did Sigappu Rojakkal, in which he played the killer. He didn't even have a predecessor to learn from and take a calculated risk," he adds.

Just like Ponniyin Selvan, Iraivan too is a star-studded film. With Nayanthara, Rahul Bose, Narain, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Charle, among others, the film features an ensemble cast. Is Jayam Ravi ever anxious about having to stand out? "My aim has never been to be more prominent than my co-actors. I have always been focused on doing my job perfectly. I believe that if I give my best, my performance will automatically stand out."

Coming up, Jayam Ravi has a number of films in his kitty. While he has completed filming for M Rajesh's Brother and Anthony Bhagyaraj's Siren he is currently working on Bhuvanesh's Genie. "I was asked to be slightly on the bulkier side for my character in Siren," says Jayam Ravi, who now looks a lot leaner for Genie. The actor dons an older look in Siren with a salt-and-pepper beard, as he plays an accused alongside Keerthy Suresh's cop character.

In Genie, the actor will be seen alongside Kalyani Priyadarshan, Krithi Shetty, and Wamiqa Gabbi. Apart from these, Jayam Ravi's Thani Oruvan 2 is set to go on floors early next year.

With just one film in production and one more to take off, it is interesting how Ravi is never really playing the numbers game, be it in stardom or the quantity of his films. "At a point in my career, I was worried about doing fewer films. But I have never compared myself with any of my contemporary actors. I would only compare me to myself. I have always wanted to only do good films. I don’t want to do films for the sake of doing them. For me, it has always been quality over quantity," he signs off.