New Delhi, India – If Fahadh Faasil, a Malayalam-speaking movie star in Kerala, India, writes a film production rule book, the key criteria will be authenticity and honesty.

“The movie theater should be as real as looking at it from the window. Everything must be as real as how you experience it,” the 38-year-old actor and producer said on the eve of his new movie “Malik” on Amazon Prime Video.

The touchstone of a Faasil movie—whether it is a romance, comedy, period drama, gangster legend or thriller—is credible. His character—black, white, or gray—must be credible.

“The audience should be able to resonate with the story,” he told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview.

Faasil, (left), in Malik, his third outing with Mahesh Narayanan after takeoff and CU Soon [Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video]

Malik is directed by Mahesh Narayanan, and Fasil has done some commendable work with him, an important addition to the actor’s famous nearly 50 films.

This film is not only a series for Faasil, but also a major turning point in his 20-year film career. For those considered to be the main protagonists of the Malayalam movie “New Wave”, shifting gears may change the rules of the game.

In “Malik”, Fasil played the nominal role of Suleiman Malik, also known as Ali Ika, a humble man who was addicted to smuggling, politics, crime and corruption, and became his people and The leader of the community.

Therefore, for the person who has played the ordinary Joe so far, the alien next door, or, more recently, the twisted psychopath, Malik is the first-a textbook hero with epic sweep, span, and popular appeal.

Faasil from Joji’s stills, based on Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” [Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video]

The actor must go through all stages of the character’s life-from youth to old age. Considering that he has not played a role older than his actual age, this marks another number one for Faasil.

“This movie shows the 30-year life of this character. It’s not just that I experienced the leap of time, every actor in the movie has grown in this sense. This is the challenging aspect-to portray this growth… …. Through this movie, I promoted myself,” Fasil told Al Jazeera.

Initial challenge

However, these challenges are not new to the actor, and his first few years in the film were not that valuable.

Faasil made her debut in 2002 at the age of 19 in a romantic film “Kayethum Doorath” directed by his father Fazil. But the film failed, so he took a long vacation and applied for an engineering course in the United States.

But he lost interest in this subject, gave up halfway, and began to participate in performance workshops.

Faasil, (left), in Malik, this is the first movie in which an actor plays a role older than his actual age [Courtesy of Amazon Prime Video]

Seven years later, he returned to the big screen in the anthology film “Kerala Cafe” (2009), which attracted public attention, and he starred in the short horror film Mrityunjayam.

“He brought a very different atmosphere-cool and casual. Young energy entered the film. He was like a breath of fresh air,” the writer Vivek Ranjit recalled.

It was the thriller Chaappa Kurishu (2011) by Sameer Thahir that broke the deal, and Fasil won the Kerala State Best Supporting Actor Award for this.

Despite coming from a privileged movie family—his father introduced some famous people in Malayalam movies, including Mohanlal of Manjil Virinja Pookkal—faasil chose not to be bound.

Even as a fledgling actor, the actor chose unorthodox and experimental subjects instead of embracing mainstream narrative and aesthetics.

Playing a negative role in 22 Women Kottayam (2012), his revenge heroine Bobbitised-referring to an American woman who cut off her husband’s genitals in 1993-is a hero who dares not to masculinity Portrayed on the screen.

‘Character… Only one layer of film’

Faasil explained his preference for unconventional things. “It can be an ordinary story placed in an unconventional environment, or an unconventional character in a traditional setting. I like to listen to it even if it’s a remake [and see] it [done] use different ways. “

When deciding on a movie, he does not look at the role of the character, but first looks at the narrative and script.

“For me, the most important thing is the story and the techniques used to convey it. This character is actually just one layer of the movie,” he said.

As far as he is concerned, he is a keen observer of life and an avid audience of movies, which is very helpful to him.

Director Narayanan said that he likes Faasil’s transparency, openness and patience, as well as his willingness to discuss, accept and provide feedback.

“He knew the script very well on the set,” he said.

Bandhu Prasad Aleyamma, consultant and art manager of the film festival, said Faasil “has the ability to understand a story, select and imagine the movie possibilities of a story.”

It turns out that 2013 was a particularly busy and fruitful year for Faasil, which was dotted with successful films, including the interreligious romance Annayum Rasoolum, the musical “Amen” and the romantic comedy “Oru Indian Pranaykadha.”

His being a person suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder at North 24 Kaatham is pleasant, just as fascinating as a self-centered and conceited artist among the artists. These two roles together won him the best actor award in Kerala that year.

After the great success of the ensemble romance “Days in Bangalore” (2014), it was another bad stage—two years of failure—until Dileesh Pothan’s directorial debut, Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016), broke the spell and marked Faasil’s second wave of success.

Although Sathyan Anthikad’s humanity life course in Njan Prakashan (2018) set a new box office record, Pothan’s seemingly simple and profound film centered on theft of gold chains, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017) won Faasil India’s national most Best Supporting Actor Award.

Fahadh Faasil at the 2018 National Film Awards in New Delhi [File: Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images]

Faasil founded his own production company, Fahadh Faasil and Friends Pvt Ltd., and his wife and actor Nazriya Nazim, making their debut as producers of the unusual period thriller Iyobinte Pusthakam (2014).

Promoter of New Wave Malayalam Movies

For many years, he has been a pioneering promoter of so-called Malayalam New Wave movies. He helped bring together various talents, including filmmakers Pothan, Narayanan, Sanu John Varghese, and writer Syam Pushkaran.

New talents work together on ideas and projects out of the box. They work together and use each other as soundboards.

“Everyone is a part of every movie. This is a’us’ movie, not a personal one,” Narayanan said.

In 2019, with the release of subtitle theaters for movies such as Madhu C Narayanan’s Kumbalangi Nights and Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s Super Deluxe (Tamil), Faasil began to gain recognition from movie fans across the country.

The success of the video streaming platform and CU Soon, an experimental film with a screen inside, and Joji (Pothan’s Macbeth to Shakespeare) released during the COVID-19 lockdown helped Faasil become a household name.

“Now everyone can watch everything. I can sit at home and watch Spanish dramas. Similarly, other people in other parts of the world can watch Malayalam movies,” Fasil said.

Malik was originally scheduled to be released in April last year, but the coronavirus pandemic forced it to become the second Malayalam blockbuster after “Drisiam 2” was released online.

Actor’s first look poster #Kamal Hassan And director #LokeshKanagarajUpcoming movies, #Vikram,Out! @?? | @Dir_Lokesh pic.twitter.com/YkmO4BLqsF

— Silverscreen.in (@silverscreenin) July 10, 2021

Although the Kerala film industry has largely resisted the OTT (Top Media Services) platform, Faasil was one of the first to turn to it for help and is now considered a successful move in retrospect.

“It’s time to move on and adapt to newer ways, and go hand in hand with the ever-changing times. Our purpose is to entertain the audience,” he said.

Faasil said that it is important for him to let the audience like a movie, regardless of the media. As he has always emphasized, it is honest emotion that clicks.

“I make films with emotions, which in turn cross borders and connect with people.”

Malik is the third outing directed by Faasil and Narayanan, after Take Off and CU Soon.

Vijay Subramaniam, director and content director of Amazon Prime Video in India, said that what makes Faasil stand out is “his accurate choice of stories and great performances.”

Malik may remind people of Don or Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather series, or the role of Velu Naickar in Tamil director Mani Ratnam’s “Nayakan”.

However, unlike the gorgeousness of actors such as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Kamal Hassan, Fasil plays in his iconic style-seemingly relaxed, relaxed and relaxed. This is a quiet performance, almost self-humility, but at the same time greater than life.

Faasil’s savior is typically grounded and true.

The film also draws on current issues and events-land encroachment along the Indian coastline and the ensuing ecological destruction, political and corporate corruption.

At the same time, the Narayanan-Faasil team continued to move forward. The actor will next star in the “Malayan Kunzhu” by Saran Prabhakar, a survival thriller written by Narayanan, and he will also be the film’s photographer.

Recently, Lokesh Kanagaraghi’s “Vikram” (Fasier’s third Tamil film), co-starring Kamal Hassan and Vijay Setupati, made its debut in Twitter has aroused an enthusiastic response.

Faasil is also preparing to collaborate with Allu Arjun on his first Telugu film Pushpa.

Is there a Hindi film coming soon? He said until he could speak Hindi absolutely fluently.

“It’s not that I can’t speak or understand Hindi, but that I still need to think in language to improvise a scene,” he said.

After all, for Faasil, it is always true and honest, credible and truthful.