I signed up for '2018' without waiting to know about my role: Narain

Narain is ecstatic to be a part of a film that's being celebrated in Kerala today. He says the film was already created in Jude's mind, and it was his confidence in Jude that made him say yes to the project without even hearing a narration. The actor, who is back after a hiatus, shares his experience with Manorama Online.

It was Anto Joseph who called him for '2018'
It was a chance meeting with Producer Anto Joseph that helped me bag a role in '2018.' While chatting with him, I told him to let me know if something interesting comes up in Malayalam. Within minutes, he told me about this Jude Antony film. He said they were doing a film on the Kerala floods and that they were looking for an appropriate actor for a role, and Anto felt I would be suitable. He said he would talk to Jude and get back to me. Later, I met Jude, and he narrated the story to me.

Okayed without listening to the narration
Rarely have I agreed to act in a film without hearing a proper narration. '2018' was one such film. I said okay when I heard that I was playing a fisherman. It's one of those characters you feel an immense amount of respect for because I am also representing a larger community. And more than anything else, I trusted Jude.

The scenes shot in the ocean were really challenging
Everything had to be done on a boat, which kept swaying due to strong undercurrents. The art director had placed it in such a way that the waves come from above. The water tends to hit violently on your body, and therefore, each time it hit me, I would get hurled. You can't really predict how the water will hit you, making it difficult to balance inside the boat. I remember getting hurled several times, and since my finger got hurt, I had to shoot the scenes wearing a cast. During the close-up shots, I would remove the cast. They had painted it in the same colour as my skin and was only used during long shots.

The energy on the sets
With night shoots, fake and real rains, propellers, and winds, shooting '2018' was not easy. These were circumstances that could tire anyone out. However, whenever we looked around, the director and other technicians were in the water with us. When you have that kind of energy around you, it naturally rubs off on the actors. Most importantly, '2018' was not just any other film, but a film that was going to be part of history. Such thoughts naturally energized us. So nothing affected us much. I am sure my character will be remembered forever.

Jude was amazing
I would like to thank Jude for making this film and also for making me a part of it. This is Jude’s dream film, and the film was first created in his mind. Let me tell you about an experience we had on the sets. There is a scene in which Joy Mathew sir is getting rescued. When I read the scene, I thought it would take at least 4-5 hours to shoot that scene since it had to be shot in the rain. But Jude finished it in just 30 minutes. He had that much clarity about the shots. He only shoots what is needed. Jude is not someone who will shoot a lot of scenes and then edit them out.

2018 is a theatre experience
I have heard an incident about Jude. It was the day his debut film 'Om Shanthi Oshana' was released. During the interval of the first show, he coolly came out of the theatre and told his producer, “Brother, go ahead and put up 100th-day posters of the film.” That was his confidence. I could see that same confidence for '2018' also. Since it was a multi-star film, we knew the audience wouldn't miss the first day. I also knew that they would love the film. But the kind of responses I am getting are really overwhelming. They are celebrating this film.

Next Queen Elizabeth
After Covid-19, many multi-star films are releasing. Now it is the responsibility of the filmmaker to lure the audience back into theatres. Remember, now there are a lot of people who would rather wait for the OTT release to catch a film. That adds more responsibility to filmmakers. The biggest challenge for a filmmaker is to make a film that brings audiences to the theatres. My next film in Malayalam is 'Queen Elizabeth' with Meera Jasmine, and I am really looking forward to it.