Siju Sunny in a scene from the horror-comedy film | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Siju Sunny, popularly known as Mukesh of Blockbuster film adventures, Enjoying the moment with a request for intro and selfie. He welcomes selfie requests – getting paid to be an actor – a dream he has pursued since he was in the 11th standard. There is a lot of praise pouring in for the cast of the film, helmed by newcomer Jeetu Madhavan.
“We knew people would love the film, but the response has been beyond our expectation!” Siju calls on the phone, the excitement in his voice clearly visible. The journey has not been easy for the 28-year-old who hails from Pathanamthitta and has been active in drama at school and college arts festivals. The mechanical engineer quit his job in West Asia in hopes of making a film in it and attended several acting auditions.
romance is his third film, his first film was pure table Released and scheduled for release in 2022 Velaripatnam,
Siju Sunny | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Day romance was released, we kept checking the booking platform to see if the shows are fully booked or not. Within no time the film gained momentum and became a hit. His role as Mukesh, the least ‘responsible’ of the seven roommates, is one of the memorable performances in the film. His attire was simple, “just three lungis – blue, green and red – and a jacket. Jeetu told me that Mukesh is not particular about cleanliness. As a preparation, I stopped biting my nails, grew my hair… It’s not the most glamorous debut but it doesn’t matter, how ‘glamorous’ the role is.
The more disheveled he looked, the more people, including family, began to wonder what he was doing. Apprehensive that the film might not work, he initially did not share it with his family. “This is cinema, you never know, there can always be a slip between the cup and the lip,” he says.
The cast was hired without auditions, with most being selected for their work on social media such as reels, YouTube videos and others. That’s where his Instagram Reels came in handy. He started making reels during the lockdown uploading mostly comic content, which garnered quite a following online, including Jeetu, who calls himself a fan. Thus Jeetu chose Siju for the role. “Jeetu chose most of his actors based on our online content and the success of the film should give confidence to the makers. That they can choose actors from social media.”
“As preparation for the film, we attended a five-day acting camp in Aluva, where Jeetu kept filming rehearsals, at the end of which he had an idea of what each of us would be in the film.” The time spent together helped the cast bond with each other.
memories with soubin
Whereas romance While filming was taking place, Facebook flashed a memory from five years back (2016-17) – a picture with Soubin Shahir. This picture was clicked when he attended an audition for care about, directed by Soubin. “Shoubika clearly didn’t remember as she would be clicking pictures with so many fans. But it seemed like a lucky sign!”
Congratulatory calls are coming and offers are also coming. Some offers are for reboots of Mukesh, which he is not keen on. He wants to do different roles and explore every emotion through his acting. He has come a long way from the 15-year-old boy who thought Kochi and the film industry were far away.