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Excelling at his passion

Bagging lead roles in Joseph and Chola, Joju George is enjoying a career high right now.

Joju George's career is one that amuses every movie lover or aspirant. Starting out as a junior artiste in the late 90's, playing some interesting side roles in movies like Pattalam, his career began to change after 2010. His struggles and hard work to gain the stature of a ‘good actor’ definitely paid off when the directors decided to explore his talent by casting him in some meaty roles. Now, Joju's name has become synonymous with credible character roles in the Malayalam movie industry.

Pullipulikalum Aattinkutti yum, 1983, Hotel California, Lukka Chuppi, Action Hero Biju, Oru Second Class Yathra, Ramante Eden Thottam, Udaharanam Sujatha and Njan Marykutty were some of the movies that showcased his flexible talent to the audience. Whether it be a supporting character, comic role or a villainous one, it's all safe with Joju. His hard work for all these years was honoured when he was awarded the Kerala State Film Award (Special Mention) for his stunning performance in Lukka Chuppi.

He is currently shooting for M. Padmakumar's Joseph. The first look poster of the movie revealing Joju's intense appearance in the movie has already gone viral on social media. The intriguing look and his association with Padmakumar have already made Joseph a project to look forward to. “It’s a very interesting movie and I sport a different look in this. I play the character of a 65-year-old retired police officer. He is roped in to investigate a case at this age and that forms the crux of the story. The movie has a lot of emotional and thrilling moments,” says Joju.

The movie is scripted by Shahi Kabir, a policeman. The story of the movie is made up of real-life incidents of the scriptwriter. “I feel the script being written by a police officer is a major plus point of the movie. It’s a gripping and authentic tale. The script has been put brilliantly in every scene. My character undergoes a lot of emotions and I believe it’s an entertaining one. At times only we get the chance to play such convincing characters, I’m so fortunate to portray that. And all credit to make-up artist Roshan for creating the intense look, which made the character really captivating,” he adds. He has been preparing well to play the lead role in the movie.

This is the fourth time he is playing a police officer this year. He had donned the role of a cop in Kaly, Poomaram and Njan Marykutty, all getting rave responses from the audience. He has completed shooting for Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s Chola. This will be Sanal's next outing after S Durga. The movie, which was mostly shot in forests, has made the viewers curious with its poster font. The title ‘Chola’ can also be read as ‘Chora’, meaning blood. The coming together of Joju and Sanal has already placed a lot of expectation on the audience.

“Right now, I can’t reveal much details about the movie and my character. All I can say is that Chola will be a movie that will visually entice you in theatres. It will be a technically brilliant movie. The movie is shot in an international format with high-quality camera and lenses. Nimisha, a newcomer and I, are playing the key roles and the story goes through our lives. The movie’s brilliant making is backed by a sturdy story. Most parts were shot in a forest and were in the midst of heavy rains; so many sequences were taken with great risk. As I said, the movie will be a beguiling experience and the audience will be thoroughly entertained. In fact, I’m eagerly waiting for its release,” he says. The movie will most probably be released by the end of this year.

He was one of the actors who was affected badly by the floods. He had gone live through his Facebook profile many times when he was trapped at home. “I never expected it will be this bad. I didn’t take it too seriously but as time went by, the situation worsened and we got trapped at home. Our place became like an island and was isolated. We were stuck at home without electricity and water for three days. Our area is in the process of recovering; even my house will take another month to get back to shape,” he reveals.

Joju has also made a name for himself as a producer in Malayalam. His movies Charlie and Udaharanam Sujatha were big hits in theatres and went onto receive several awards. “Yes, I’ll be producing a movie, but not sure when it will happen. I’m not a full-time producer. I don’t plan like I should produce a movie every year and all. When a good project comes around, it happens.” He has committed to a lot of projects this year and affirms he will be busy as an actor. “I’m comfortable doing character roles more. Playing a lead role is a lot of responsibility. For the time being, I’m very happy with Joseph and Chola. Then I’ll be back to playing character roles.”

He’s thankful to all the directors and movies that brought out the tremendous actor in him. “By God’s grace, all the characters are being well-received. I’m 100 per cent happy with where I have reached now. I really hope good characters continue to come my way. Let it be so always,” he wraps up.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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