He was just back from a shooting in Chennai, just in time to celebrate Onam with his family in Kochi. Kalabhavan Shajohn, who is known for his roles in My Boss and of course, Drishyam, now has two major releases — Mohanlal-starrer Oppam and Dileep-starrer Welcome to Central Jail. “In Oppam, I played a negative role, while in Welcome to Central Jail, I portray a jailer with a comical makeover,” he says. Interestingly, the roles where he dons the khaki have got much fervour.
Asked why he chose a cop role again, he says, “It maybe that negative roles suit me. In fact, I was consciously making a decision to reduce khaki roles as I have acted as both a convict and a cop, but this role came under a good production which had Dileep as the hero. I was thrilled to play the role of a jailer as I have not done it before.” Shajohn is now acting in a major role under a major production — in S. Shankar’s Enthiran 2.
Earlier, we saw Kalabhavan Mani in the first part and now its Shajohn’s turn. “Shankar sir happened to see my performance in Drishyam and his manager contacted me and asked for my schedule. But that time, I was about to go to the US for a stage show. I almost lost the role, but later he asked me if I was interested to act in the movie. I said yes, and Shankar sir changed the entire schedule for my return. I have some combination scenes with Akshay Kumar and Rajni sir. It is an important role and I can’t disclose more at the moment,” he says.
Apart from acting, Shajohn is also stepping into direction. His first directorial venture — a family entertainer with Prithviraj in the lead - will start shooting next year. “I have dreamt of it for many years. I finished the scripting and got the dates of Raju (Prithviraj). At the moment, he is busy with other projects. That is why we couldn’t start shooting this year. We have scheduled it for next year,” shares Shajohn. The actor is also playing a 70-year-old in the upcoming movie Pareed Pandari opposite Sajitha Madathil. Other than that, he is currently acting in a Mohanlal movie and will also be seein in the Mammootty starrer — The Great Father.
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