Mammootty and Mohanlal must be credited for the subtlety in cinema now: Raj B Shetty

Kannada actor-filmmaker Raj B Shetty took tentative steps into the Malayalam film industry when he acted in writer-director Jisho Lon Antony’s Rudhiram. Though it was the first film he signed in the language, it will be his third release, after Turbo and Kondal. “My entry into Malayalam was an accident. Characters used to be pitched to me, but I wanted to do just my productions. Then, I felt I might be getting too comfortable, and when I considered experimenting and exploring, Rudhiram came to me,” he says.

In the film, which also features Aparna Balamurali, he plays Dr Mathew Rosey, a “kindhearted, generous human who wants to serve society”. But for Raj, whose films include Ondu Motteya Kathe and blockbuster hit Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana, what was interesting was the character’s grey shades. “Both his dark and bright sides are explored; the same goes for the other characters in the film. I, generally, view myself as a grey kind of human, who is trying to balance my little bright side with my more dark aspects. That is the reason I write those kinds of characters. I can relate to them. And though I may not be able to justify my characters’ actions many a time, I have empathy for them,” he says.

In Turbo, he played a negative character opposite Mammootty. “When the movie came to me, I was a bit surprised, because they were asking me to play a villain opposite Mammootty sir. I had no experience in a massy film. So, I kept working to find out how villains are played and what I could bring to the table. That’s the kind of learning process which gives me a kick.”

Raj, who can carry a conversation in Malayalam fairly competently, says that he does not find too much difference in the scriptwriting styles of Malayalam and Kannada. “I have written four films and all were well accepted in Kerala and one was remade (Ondu Motteya Kathe into Tamaasha). I think there is no difference in writing, just because it is two different states. But the stars from Malayalam — Mammootty and Mohanlal — need to be credited for the changes we see now. They have been subtle in acting even in the ‘80s, and that subtlety has come to all aspects of cinema. The kid who has grown up watching this understood, we don’t need to write so much to convey something. And even in a bad Malayalam film, the dialogues are very natural. That is one difference,” he says.

‘Cinema can’t depict only absolutely good characters’

While Raj likes to write about characters with grey shades, he also delves into the debate about seemingly glorifying negative characters. “Most classic literature didn’t write only about characters that were absolutely good; because human beings are not like that. If anyone tries to write that, it would be untruthful. Every character has his strengths and flaws, and cinema needs to explore and represent that, but the only thing is, will it look like heroism to society? Cinema is not separate from society, but is a representation of society. In Animal or Arjun Reddy, the main character was shown as flawed and he loses everything, even the love of his life. He shows too much machismo, and loses the sensibility and sensitivity of life. I don’t think I want to become Arjun Reddy in my life. Clearly, the character is problematic. At the same time, if I made a film on Mahatma Gandhi, I don’t think everyone would want to be him. People choose who they want to be. Moral education shouldn’t be the responsibility of only cinema, but also of media and society,” he elaborates.