Indrajith's decided to do only movies with a difference

Indrajith is at a point in his career where he doesn't feel the need to do back-to-back projects. The actor, who is picking and choosing his films carefully, will next be seen in Dr Biju's Kadu Pookkunna Neram, a socially relevant film like the rest of the director's works. In conversation with Indrajith, who is also part of the highly anticipated Tiyaan.
What is Kadu Pookkunna Neram about?
It is a film which follows two individuals ' a police constable and a woman Maoist suspect ' who get stuck in a forest under certain circumstances.During the course of four days, the policeman comes across several harsh truths about the conditions of Dalits and tribals who live in the area, and that brings about a change in his perspective.
What is your character like in the film?
I play the constable, who is part of a battalion which is assigned to check out Maoist presence in the forest. He is someone whose opinions have been influenced by his superiors and politicians, but he starts questioning his beliefs on seeing the reality, on how often the underprivileged are convicted wrongly.
To be honest, the shoot was an eye-opener for me too, as a person. We shot in real tribal settlements where I came across some heart-rending sights ' in a space the size of a table, three people and a child would be asleep, with just a blue plastic sheet over them. They all live on farming, but they are well aware that there is no authority they can approach if they require help. They also know that a lot of funds are being sanctioned for them from the government and that it's not reaching them. They spoke to us about all of it. Kadu Pookkunna Neram is thus about real issues, which is what attracted me to the project.
How was the experience shooting inside a forest?
Well, I am a nature lover and a travel junkie, so you can imagine how refreshing the experience must have been for me to spend 20 days entirely in a forest, with no mobile signals. We shot in the forests of Achankovil, near Sengottai. And it was literally kadu pookkunna neram there. The forest was beautiful with brooks, flowers and what not.
You have another movie which will also be shot in a forest
Yes, coincidentally, the shoot of Ansar Khan's film will be held almost entirely in the forest. The film is scripted by Jeethu Joseph and will have Biju Menon and me in the lead roles. We play two convicts who are being brought to a jail in Ernakulam from Peermade. I have one more film in the pipeline, which will be a comedy, where I will be playing a cop again.
What about Tiyaan?
The shoot of Tiyaan will start soon. I can't talk much about it but I can say that my character Pattabhiramagiri will probably be the toughest in my 80-film-old career. The characterisation is quite intense and each person has a performance-oriented role in it. Expectations are high as it will be my next collaboration with Murali Gopy as actor and scriptwriter after Ee Adutha Kalathu and Left Right Left. But Tiyaan will be two notches above all these films.
You did an Amar Akbar Anthony and then Kadu Pookkunna Neram, and the pattern seems to continue. Are you trying to strike a balance between entertainers and serious cinema?
Actually I am trying to cut down on the number of films I am doing. I have made a decision to do only those roles which I find challenging. Whatever I do will have something special in it. Whether it will work or not is something else altogether, but I will do my best to stay true to my conscience.