- Saiju Kurup transitioned from a corporate sales job at Airtel to Malayalam cinema over 20 years
- He struggled for eight years before gaining recognition and persistence helped him succeed
- Saiju acted in over 150 films, starting with supporting roles before lead roles in 2019
There are many actors in the Indian film industry who have moved from the corporate world to cinema, and successful Malayalam actor Saiju Kurup features among them.
The recent film Bharathanatyam 2: Mohiniyattam, starring Saiju Kurup, was a stellar success, and he says it reaffirms his faith in cinema.
In this exclusive chat with NDTV, the Malayalam actor talks about his journey so far, success, failure and more.
From a sales job in Airtel to being recognised as a veritable talent in Malayalam cinema over 20 years, Saiju Kurup's initial eight years of struggle is a life lesson he hasn't forgotten.
Despite this, the Pappachan Olivilanu has remained motivated through it all.
"Yes, I've had more downs in my career and many actors face this, I think. What drove me is the fact that I would have to get into corporate sales again if cinema didn't work out and put more pressure on me to succeed! I thought I'd remain persistent and over a period of time movies became a passion. I wanted to stick with the film industry and that persistence opened all the doors for me," he states with relief.
From Supporting Roles To Lead
In a career spanning over 150 films, Saiju Kurup has worked on many supporting roles before seeing success as the main lead. Did he not want to break out of that image?
"I started off my career as a lead in Mayookham written and directed by the legendary Hariharan. People praised the film when they saw it on satellite channels but it didn't do well in theatres. That was very depressing. Then I thought I'll continue doing movies even if it is not the lead because I didn't know acting. I took up supporting roles and after 15 years I got to play the hero in Janamaithri (2019) again. I got offered a lot of lead roles after that," says the Janaki Jaane actor. For someone who has mainly played the protagonist and antagonist in a few, he says he has no preference but is clear he would never play extremes like a rapist.
Bharathanatyam (2024) was the actor's first film as producer, and it was a hit on OTT but not in theatres.
Its sequel Bharathanatyam 2: Mohiniyattam in 2026, though, became a superhit on the big screen.
"I feel really good. A producer friend told me that you can become a producer anytime, but if the movie is not a hit, you can't produce a second film. I made Bharathanatyam but it didn't do well at the box office, and I was depressed. I thought it was a very good movie. But it became a blockbuster on OTT, and after two years, Mohiniyattam became a blockbuster in theatres!" gushes Saiju Kurup, seeing his dream come true.
What's Next?
Currently, Saiju and his family are on vacation and enjoying a break before he gets back on set.
As for what's next for him in terms of cinema, he has a thriller called Aaram and others in the works.
"Aaram's directed by debutant Rajeesh Parameswarn and written by Vishnu Ramachandran. Then I have Harivarasanam, a movie based on Sabarimala, directed by Rajesh Nair, along with a film for Arun Gopy Productions by Sagar. I'm playing a character I've never done in my career in Sagar's film, which is a change," he says.
As for whether we see Saiju Kurup directing a film, he signs off saying, "I'd never direct a movie because I don't think I'm that capable nor have enough patience. I love to be an actor, and I will continue that and produce movies once in a while."
