Sudev Nair, the 34-year-old actor, is well-known in the Malayalam film industry for his unforgettable role as Kiran in the film My Life Partner. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in 2015 for his portrayal of a homosexual man. Since then, the light green-eyed, broad-shouldered actor, has appeared in films like Anarkali, Abrahaminte Santhathikal and Gulaab Gang.
But it’s his recent Hindi film, India’s Most Wanted, that seems to have put him in the spotlight. The actor played Yusuf, the antagonist, opposite Arjun Kapoor. It ’s the actor’s intense eyes and performance that seems to have impressed the audience. However, Sudev says he nearly lost the role because of his eye colour. “I have a unique eye colour and it’s easy to identify. Although I had the intense look, the makers weren’t sure about casting me,” he reveals. The makers then asked Sudev to use brown lenses to make him look like the character. This was how he was signed on for the film.
For someone who was an introvert, Sudev has come a long way. He says, as a child, he was quiet and preferred his own company. When he turned 13, something unusual happened. “I started b-boying and doing stage shows. I got addicted to the stage and the appreciation from audiences,” he reveals. “I would also mimic Rowan Atkinson, and that’s when the acting bug bit me,” Sudev adds. Since then, there has been no looking back for the young man who was raised in Mumbai and graduated in acting from The Film and Television Institute of India, Pune in 2011.
Apart from acting, Sudev is also known for his first web series, Not Fit, which captures the adventures of Neerav Kapoor (Nero), a struggling actor. He calls it a mockumentary because, “It is a comedy. I would say it is deprecatory humour, on the unglamorous side of struggling actors in Mumbai. It’s based on my life,” he offers. Next, the actor will be seen in two big budget Malayalam projects. Sudev plays the antagonist opposite Nivin Pauly in Thuramukham, a period film set in 1930s that’s directed by Rajeev Ravi. “I also star in Maamaankan, a period drama set in the 1800s, with Mammootty in the lead. I play one of the warriors. It’s inspired by a real-life incident. I had the advantage of being a Kalaripayattu artiste, so I was selected for this role,” he reveals.
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