My biggest drawback is that I don't chase roles

It takes courage to step out of one's comfort zone and attempt something contrary to one's nature. Manoj K Jayan is one such man who keeps fighting with his introvert self to transform himself into an entertainer. His acting career spread across South film indsutries ' with three Kerala State Film Awards in his kitty, is a testimonial to how he has achieved that with roles such as Kuttan Thampuran in Hariharan's Sargam, Digambaran in Santhosh Sivan's Ananthabadram and as Kunjiraman in Farook Abdul Rahiman's Kaliyachan.In conversation with the actor'
What are you working on now after Valleem Thetti Pulleem Thetti?
I just wrapped up the shoot of Vilakkumaram, Zacharia Pothen Jeevichirippundu and Pallikoodam. Among these, I am kicked about Vilakkumaram directed by Vijay Menon because it has zero masala in it. I was hooked to the script when he narrated it to me. When he said that his son had scripted it, I was amazed. My character is Major Girish Rajan, a retired Army officer, who runs a children's home. He is very strict and appears as a tough man, but deep inside, he is a loving character. I will be seen in a different get up in the movie. I also have a few Tamil projects including the remake of Thattathin Marayathu and Pattinapakkam.
You have been in the industry for close to three decades. How has Mollywood changed?
If you ask a normal Malayali about their favourite meal, they would say a full-fledged sadya. The kind of films directors like Padmarajan, Bharathan and Hariharan used to offer were also similar. I think I am one among the few artistes of that generation. Those days, there were sub-plots that were woven into the main story. For instance, in Venkalam, we got to see my relationship with Sonia as well as the lives of the characters played by Murali, Urvashi, KPAC Lalitha, Nedumudi Venu and Innocent.
In today's films, what do we see? Friends are given prominence over families and the nuances of relationships are missing. It's just like how the present generation now prefer junk food over sadya. Their tastes in movies have changed. I do not mean I dislike contemporary films. I enjoyed doing Thattathin Marayathu and Neram.
You have not done many films recently'
In the past 25 years, I have never chased films. That might be a reason why I have just 170 films in my filmography that too combining Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. But I don't regret it. I am a lazy introvert, who does roles that come to me. I do not belong to any 'camps' and don't have a friend's circle who would recommend me for films. Also, I don't want to do back-to-back movies. I want to balance my career and family.
However, I am proud that I was able to play memorable characters under many talented directors, without struggling much in the industry.
Your role in Neram, a new-generation movie, was well received. But you did not do many such roles'
When it comes to networking and forging a relationship, I am really bad. I don't party and hang out with people. When a new bunch of filmmakers enter the industry, one should keep in touch with them often. But I am not such a person and I never make efforts to do so. I know there is nothing wrong in calling up Alphonse Putharen once and chatting with him. Somehow, I never did that as I always feel that I should not bother anyone unnecessarily.
We heard that you were chosen as the lead for Kambhoji movie earlier and later you opted out'
I had initially said yes to it. But later I felt it would be a repetition of the role I did in Kaliyachan as both are about Kathakali. Kaliyachan was a story that was narrated to me 10 years ago. I loved the character and had a fantastic time giving life to Kunjiraman.
You were very close to Kalpana'
She was like my elder sister and had an amazing personality. Even while I was having differences with her sister Urvashi, she never said anything bad about me. May be because she knew I was right. I couldn't maintain the relationship with her family after my second marriage. But when Kalpana passed away, my wife, Asha was very supportive and we were with the family throughout the funeral.