'I want to do roles that stand out'

From his debut film Nee Ko Nja Cha, Sanju Sivram had ensured that he would do meaty roles instead of picking any character that comes his way.
The decision seems to have paid dividends. His roles in 1983 and Beware of Dogs gave him a notable space as a new-gen character actor. Sanju hopes to repeat the magic with his upcoming films Monsoon Mangoes and Hello Namasthe, and tells us how his characters in the movies are special.“In Monsoon Mangoes, I play Koshy, a slouch who keeps talking about others' achievements. He is quite incompetent and never looks within to find his own qualities. He is the hero’s close friend in the movie. We would find at least one such character in our friends circle,” he explains. The actor even experimented with his looks for the film. “I have a 70s, caricaturish getup with bell-bottoms and colourful shirts,” he adds.
In Hello Namasthe, Sanju appears as a radio jockey named Jerry. “It was quite a transition from the 70s getup to the cool dude dressed in classy t-shirts and jeans. Jerry is a fun-loving and easy going guy, who anchors a successful programme in a radio station. It is going to be a feel-good film that narrates the story of friendship and family,” Sanju says. So what makes Jerry different? “The character is someone every husband can relate to,” says the actor, signing off.