There is a stillness about Roy that’s almost disquieting. A loner who had to be wooed by his current wife into marriage, Roy doesn’t really subscribe to the stereotypical notions of masculinity. In an earlier scene in the psychological thriller Roy, directed by Sunil Ibrahim, he scrubs the kitchen clean, calmly waits until midnight for his wife to come back from the office, and whips up a cup of coffee for her. He has a strange condition — he isn’t able to differentiate between his reality and dreams anymore, and some future events seem to be manifesting in his dreams.
This is also strangely the pattern of roles Suraj Venjaramoodu has been saddled with in the recent past. Characters with a morbid past or present battling with the self, and lately, he also seems ill at ease. Considering he is one of those rare actors in Malayalam cinema who has effectively managed to make the transition from comedy to character roles, it is startling that Suraj seems to have suddenly reached stagnation in his career. He is neither breaking new ground in character roles nor able to sell himself in comedy. Is it time for another shift in his career? We inspect his career trajectory.
A lot of events in Suraj’s life happened by accident. His father wanted him to join the army, but a broken arm eventually resulted in the actor pursuing a career in mimicry. It was his ‘Thirontharam’ (Thiruvananthapuram) slang that helped him find a space for himself in the mimicry world, and later in comedy shows on television. It was also his skill with the slang that resulted in Mammootty calling him over to help him master the slang in Anwar Rasheed’s Rajamanikyam (2005). Then came his sidesplitting act in Mayavi (2007), and the rest was history.
Suraj soon became an unavoidable part of most Malayalam films during that time. It goes without saying that most of the characters were hyperbolic and loud, with the actor repeating himself in film after film. “My characters would often have no backgrounder and I was told to embellish them with my own lines,” the actor told this writer in an earlier interview. Having said that, some of his comic roles continue to have a dedicated fan base, churning a treasure trove of memes — Dashamoolam Damu in Chattambinadu for instance.
Dr Biju’s Perariyathavar came his way at a time when he had reached a dead end when it comes to comedy. So when the role of a sweeper was offered to him, he grabbed it with both hands. Biju had picked him after watching some of his stage performances. It was the first indication that he had it in him to push his limits as an actor.
But it wasn’t until his cameo in the mainstream police procedural Action Hero Biju that Suraj truly made the world sit up and take notice of him. As a father who comes to the police station in search of his missing daughter, only to be told by the mother that the child isn’t his, the actor was heartbreakingly poignant.
Since then, he has been picking roles judiciously, consciously staying away from comedy roles. “Since no one saw Perariyathavar, I continued to be offered the usual comic roles. Then I decided to ask directors for roles. That’s how Action Hero Biju happened,” he says. Then came the sexist jailer Nelson in the sports drama Karinkunnam 6's, the helpless son of a dictatorial mother in Oru Muthassi Gadha, and the biggest milestone in his career — Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum — in which he played a guy who elopes with the heroine and hits a crisis when her thali (marital thread) is burgled on a moving bus. These roles were slowly establishing him as a reliable character actor.
It might not be an exaggeration to say that Suraj was more convincing in the comic-to-character role transition than the legendary Jagathy Sreekumar, as unlike Suraj, Jagathy was more instinctively a comedian. Therefore, Jagathy often retained comedy in his body language even when he switched to sombre roles.
One after the other, Suraj kept springing surprises, like the family man with shades of grey in Varnyathil Aashanka, who manipulates a jewellery heist in his favour.
The year 2019 can be called the ‘year of Suraj Venjaramoodu’, as he easily pulled off four diametrical different roles — Varghese master in Finals, a person with hearing and speech impairment in Vikruthi, a cranky 80-something widower in Android Kunjappan, and Motor Inspector Kuruvilla in Driving License.
Suraj continued to make some brave choices in 2021, and the nameless husband in the critically acclaimed The Great Indian Kitchen will feature right on top. He nailed the entitled, toxic, and sexist husband who expects his wife to act like a domestic worker during the day and warm up his bed at night. A nuanced embodiment of male entitlement, he is masterful at gaslighting. Though he covers it up with a reassuring smile, it's crystal-clear right from the onset what he stands for. And the actor does such a good job that by the time the heroine throws the kitchen sink (literally and metaphorically) at him, you are rooting for her.
Perhaps the first instance when the actor looked constrained while handling roles beyond his age or with gravitas was in Kaane Kaane. As a father who is determined to get to the bottom of his daughter’s murder, the role, despite having enough heft, looked laboured in the hands of Suraj. Not that the emotions didn’t land, but it clearly looked like there was a younger man behind that greying makeup (surprising, considering how he pulled off an 80-year-old widower two years ago). His body language and gestures were too familiar — it was almost like he had procured a mould for such characters. It suddenly felt very repetitive. The way his hands moved, the tilt of his head, the evading eyes, and even the voice modulation.
ACP Sajjan Kumar in Jana Gana Mana too has a familiar character template, just that he is much younger. A troubled single parent and police officer, Suraj looked particularly awkward during the scenes featuring his adolescent son and wife. CI Peter Kurishingal in Heaven and Solomon in Pathaam Valavu too follow a character pattern — both battling a tormented past and present. Peter is tailored to suit Suraj and he is functional, but he is unable to bring anything new to the table. The monotony that creeps in when he essays the emotional complexities of a character is evident here, especially in the reaction shots. That’s echoed in Solomon and his emotional upheavals as well, as he plays a jailbird out to seek revenge against his daughter’s murderers.
In Mukundan Unni Associates, a fascinating character with shades of grey, his portrayal of advocate Venu remains familiar and efficient. But it never rises above the script, as the actor seems to have become a creature of habit on screen now. In Roy, he is struggling to occupy the reclusive Roy who has a peculiar relationship with dreams and reality. He particularly falters in those lighthearted moments with his partner. Then, the clumsy body language seems to give him away. In a way, Roy shows him the mirror here. He has fallen into a rut now. Perhaps he is taking himself too seriously with a reluctance to try out comedy at the thought of getting typecast again. But right now, he is standing at the exact juncture where he was a few years ago, waiting to break free from his caricaturish comic roles.
What Suraj probably needs is yet another shift in his career — a break from roles that hammer into his psyche. The actor needs to let his hair down now and then. Do a mix, try a wacky Dashamoolam Damu and the wily Adv Venu. Suraj has a lot to give to Malayalam cinema. Putting oneself in a box never helped any actor.
Neelima Menon has worked in the newspaper industry for more than a decade. She has covered Hindi and Malayalam cinema for The New Indian Express and has worked briefly with Silverscreen.in. She now writes exclusively about Malayalam cinema, contributing to Fullpicture.in and thenewsminute.com. She is known for her detailed and insightful features on misogyny and the lack of representation of women in Malayalam cinema.
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