Hari, Sreeni, Shammy, Joji or Ranga: Fahadh, we got the method in your madness

Fahadh Faasil is being praised yet again for playing an eccentric character. Deserved, absolutely.
Ranga, the Bengaluru gangster from ‘Aavesham’ who made waves in cinemas and OTT alike, is the latest addition to the list of his characters who stunned the audience with their strange behaviour, often amounting to some sort of disorder.

Remember Harikrishnan from North 24 Kaatham or Kumbalangi Nights’ Shammy or Viju Prasad of Trance or Joji’s titular character and now Ranga – it seems the best of Fahadh often came with some kind of craziness. Their problems ranged from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to narcissism to sociopathy – at least they showed symptoms.

From the easiness and excitement with which Fahadh appears to have played those roles, it is evident that he enjoys transforming himself into men of bizarre mindscapes. A right mix of subtlety and spontaneity make his ‘madmen’ his best yet on the screen.

Ranga, the narcissist?
Clad in all white and the yellow metal, Ranga is essentially the goon you would hate to hate.

From the moment he makes his ‘eda mone’ appearance at the crowded loo of Mayoori bar, he simply charms you with the eccentricity in everything he does. Ranga means idiosyncrasy. He is a goon with a difference. His past is painted in blood, and he never gets out of its hangover. He does no longer hit anyone, but he makes others do it. And, if he misses the sight of some beating, he loses his cool. He wants those who leave him or breach his trust to be killed, but he is ready to postpone the killing for a day.

He is a narcissist. Ranga likes to be talked about. He knows he is not just a character – not the hero nor the villain. He is the story he wants others to narrate.

Psychologists say it would not be right to attribute some diagnosis to a fictional character with different shades. However, they agreed that the character has features of conditions like anti social personal disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.

According to Mayo Clinic’s website, antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others.

Tissy Mariam Thomas, assistant professor of Psychology at University of Kerala, said Ranga’s characteristics such as insensitivity to others’ emotions, disregard for law and aggressiveness can only be seen as requirements for his job as a goon.

“Those with anti social personal disorders are usually not sensitive in anyone’s case. But Ranga is sensitive to the college students who get close to him for help. He makes an emotional connection with them. We can say he is different from the usual goons we see on the screen,” the psychologist who has authored a few books said.

She said compared to Ranga, Fahadh’s celebrated characters Shammi and Joji showed more characteristics of anti social personality disorder. The characters lacked empathy and remorse. However, to her the real sociopath in Fahadh’s filmography is Cyril from 22 Female Kottayam (2012). “He has no sympathy, nothing at all to anything,” she said.

She was all praise for Fahadh’s ability to present characters with some sort of mental aberrations realistically.

Sujith Babu, also an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Kerala, identified Ranga as a character showing traits of narcissistic personality. “He enjoys being praised. His narcissistic tendencies come out of his emotional inferiority. He is basically lonely and full of conflicts. Such people become aggressive if they have to face rejection from those around. In Ranga’s case, this is clear from his responses when he feel betrayed by whom he considered as brothers,” Sujith, who practices as a clinical psychologist, said. Sujith said a troublesome childhood and emotional conflicts with close family members might have shaped his character.

He said Shammy of Kumbalangi Nights (2019) is a clear case of narcissism and anankastic traits. Anankastic traits are related to extensive preoccupation with perfectionism, organisation and control.

He also identified Joji of the 2021 film titled the same as a character with traits of anti social personality. The film – said to be an adaptation of Macbeth and the 1985 Malayalam classic film ‘Irakal’ -- has Fahadh playing an overambitious youth who kills his father and brother.

In between Shammy and Joji, Fahadh came on screen as Viju Prasad aka Pastor Joshua Carlton in Trance (2020) – a character whose psychedelic episodes defined the narrative of the film.

Fahadh’s tryst with characters with traits of one or other kind of psychic disorders started early on his career. In 2011, two years since he made a comeback to films after the flop of his 2002 debut ‘Kaiyethum Doorath’, Fahadh played Sreenivas in ‘Akam’, an adaptation of Malayattoor Ramakrishnan’s psychological thriller ‘Yakshi’. Sreenivas is an architect suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and has delusions about the identity of his wife. The film was not a success.

Two years later, Fahadh recorded one of his early blockbusters with ‘North 24 Kaatham’ in which he played Harikrishnan, a techie with OCD. The way Fahadh brought to screen Harikrishnan’s fears and compulsions was an altogether new experience for his audience.

For all the OCDs, narcissism and sociopathy he brought to the screen rather convincingly, Fahadh chose to play Dr Kannan Nair, a psychiatrist in the 2019 film Athiran. And, in the end, the doctor turned out to be a schizophrenic.

‘Eda mone’, we love the method in your madness.