‘You
have
to
be
good
in
your
project
that’s
releasing
today
for
you
to
be
working
on
something
tomorrow.
That
will
always
be
the
case.’
Roshan
Mathew
and
Darshana
Rajendran
in
Paradise.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Roshan
Mathew/Instagram
With
Malayalam
cinema
ruling
the
entertainment
landscape
with
quality
content,
Roshan
Mathew
believes
this
is
a
great
time
to
be
an
actor.
An
established
name
in
Mollywood,
Roshan
made
impact
in
Hindi
and
Tamil
cinema
as
well.
His
latest
outing
is
Paradise,
a
multi-lingual
film
helmed
by
Sri
Lankan
Director
Prasanna
Vithanage.
Roshan
plays
Keshav,
the
other
half
of
a
couple
that
arrives
in
Sri
Lanka
for
their
anniversary
celebration,
only
to
be
left
overwhelmed
by
unforeseen
challenges.
“Any
time
you
pick
a
exciting
project,
it
is
challenging.
You
hardly
ever
go
into
a
shoot
for
an
exciting
project
feeling,
‘Okay,
I
can
cakewalk
through
this’,”
Roshan
tells
Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com.
Is
it
true
that
you
had
turned
down
Paradise
when
it
was
first
offered
to
you?
What
changed
your
mind?
My
first
conversation
with
Prasanna
sir
(Director
Prasanna
Vithanage)
changed
my
mind.
This
whole
idea
of
a
married
couple
and
their
relationship
going
awry
because
of
external
circumstances
had
felt
similar
to
a
movie
I
had
done
before,
Choked.
I
decided
to
meet
Prasanna
sir
and
share
that
concern
with
him.
In
my
first
conversation
with
him
itself,
I
realised
what
he
intended
to
do
with
the
exploration
of
these
two
characters
was
very,
very,
different
from
what
had
happened
in
Choked.
I
felt
excited
and
curious
to
see
how
he
was
going
to
do
that,
and
how
he
would
make
us
do
that.
I
came
out
of
that
meeting
feeling
like
there
is
absolutely
no
chance
of
not
doing
this.
Keshav
is
such
a
layered
and
complex
character.
Is
there
something
new
you
got
to
learn
about
yourself
during
the
process
of
this
film?
It’s
not
about
myself
per
se,
but
this
project
showed
me
that
man
is
basically
nothing
but
his
circumstances.
How
people
react
in
a
situation
of
crisis
is
often
very
unpredictable,
even
to
people
who
are
closest
to
them.
With
your
logical
brain
sitting
in
a
comfortable
setting,
you
can’t
imagine
how
you
will
react
in
a
situation
of
life
and
death.
The
decisions
you
make,
the
things
you
do,
the
things
you
say
are
often
going
to
feel
completely
unfamiliar
to
you
and
the
people
close
to
you.
Roshan,
third
from
right,
with
Director
Prasanna
Vithanage,
third
from
left,
and
team
Paradise.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Roshan
Mathew/Instagram
If
a
foreign
film-maker
wants
to
see
your
work,
which
films
of
yours
will
you
show
them?
For
anybody
who
shows
any
interest
in
my
work
and
wants
to
watch
some
of
it,
it’s
always
the
same
list
of
films
that
I
prescribe.
(Laughs)
I’ll
probably
ask
them
to
look
up
Moothon.
Then
there’s
a
segment
in
an
anthology
film
called
Aanum
Pennum.
Also,
C
U
Soon,
Oru
Thekkan
Thallu
Case,
Darlings,
Kappela…
Roshan
with
Alia
Bhatt,
Shefali
Shah
and
Director
Jasmeet
K
Reen
on
the
sets
of
Darlings.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Roshan
Mathew/Instagram
Apart
from
Malayalam,
you
have
done
films
in
other
languages
as
well.
Does
your
approach
change
when
you
are
working,
let’s
say,
in
a
Bollywood
film?
I
felt
Darlings
was
very
different
from
your
usual
naturalistic
acting
in
Malayalam
films.
No,
it’s
not
a
language-based
thing
at
all.
It
was
just
that
Darlings
as
a
script
demanded
that.
It
was
a
comedy
that
was
played
out
at
a
particular
meter.
The
whole
cast
had
to
pitch
it
together
at
the
same
point.
Otherwise,
it
would
be
awkward
if
one
person
was
playing
it
extremely
realistically
and
the
other
performances
were
a
little
more
stylised.
That
was
actually
the
most
exciting
part
of
Darlings
for
me.
It
was
as
much
a
great
experience
as
it
was
fun
to
explore
realism
in
moments
that
we
find
in
a
script.
It’s
as
much
fun
to
do
something
that
is
not
entirely
realistic.
Darlings
gave
me
an
opportunity
to
do
that
with
a
fabulous
cast.
My
reason
to
do
that
film
was
specifically
to
work
those
scenes
with
my
co-actors.
Malayalam
cinema
is
making
waves
in
2024
with
commercial
success
and
innovative
themes.
How
does
this
new
landscape
benefit
a
young
actor
like
you?
It’s
a
great
time
to
be
working
in
the
Malayalam
film
industry.
Every
year
I
find
myself
adding
to
my
list
of
people
who
I
wish
to
collaborate
with
because
there
are
so
many
new
writers,
directors,
technicians,
actors
who
come
up
each
year
with
such
interesting,
original
and
exciting
ideas.
The
most
important
factor
is
that
the
audience
in
Malayalam
now
are
open
and
welcome
all
kinds
of
films.
They
are
at
a
point
where
they
look
at
the
film
itself
first
before
they
look
at
who’s
in
it
or
the
scale
or
budget.
Somewhere,
all
of
us
have
this
idea
that
if
we
make
a
film
that’s
good
enough,
then
the
audiences
will
give
it
the
love
it
deserves.
Even
after
disappointments,
that’s
what
keeps
us
going.
It
keeps
us
wanting
to
come
back
and
try
harder
next
time.
With
Prithviraj
Sukumaran.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Roshan
Mathew/Instagram
We
have
seen
actors
from
Malayalam
film
industry
taking
to
direction.
Prithviraj
Sukumaran
is
one
such
example.
Do
you
envision
yourself
directing
a
film
at
some
point?
My
friends
tell
me
that
I
write
but
I
don’t
say
that
out
loud
to
anybody.
I
write
very
sporadically.
I
write
mostly
for
myself.
I
like
coming
up
with
ideas
but
I
started
off
doing
theatre
before
films.
I
have
directed
a
bunch
of
plays
as
well.
Anything
that
I
feel
like
is
a
story
I
want
to
tell,
my
go-to
medium
is
still
theatre
rather
than
films.
In
films,
I
have
only
explored
acting.
I
don’t
know
much
about
any
other
aspect
of
film-making.
I
rarely
go
behind
the
monitor.
With
theatre,
it’s
different.
I’ve
been
more
involved
and
I’ve
worked
in
multiple
capacities.
I
feel
more
equipped
to
direct
a
play
than
a
movie.
But
maybe,
sometime.
Roshan
with
his
family.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Roshan
Mathew/Instagram
You
grew
up
in
Kerala
in
a
simple
working
class
family.
What’s
your
equation
with
fame
and
money
like?
I
live
in
Kerala
mostly.
I
keep
jumping
between
Bombay
and
Kochi.
In
Bombay,
I’ve
only
had
two
releases
in
Hindi.
I
have
two
more
waiting
to
come
out.
My
work
or
fame
doesn’t
get
in
the
way
of
me
doing
anything
there.
Kochi
is
a
place
where
I
think
people
are
very
chill.
A
lot
of
actors
are
there,
living
their
life
the
way
they
want
to.
Somebody
will
smile
at
you
or
ask
for
a
photo.
Apart
from
that,
it
doesn’t
restrict
me
in
any
way.
I’ll
only
get
a
customary
nod
from
somebody
who’s
in
the
vehicle
next
to
me
at
a
traffic
signal
or
at
a
cafe,
somebody
may
walk
up
and
say
they
like
my
work.
That’s
the
extent
of
it.
About
money…
I
decided
to
start
off
with
theatre
because
I
liked
it.
I
didn’t
expect
to
be
working
in
films.
At
this
point
in
my
life,
I
didn’t
expect
to
have
done
the
amount
of
work
that
I
have
done
in
films.
Yes,
I’m
always
hungry
for
more
but
I’m
also
very
grateful
for
the
work
that
I’ve
gotten
to
do.
I’ve
managed
to
become
financially
stable.
This
is
something
I
did
not
expect.
At
the
same
time,
working
in
this
industry
means
getting
constant
reminders
there
is
no
stability.
Anything
could
change
at
any
point.
So
you’re
always
on
your
toes.
Is
there
something
you
particularly
find
challenging
about
this
industry?
So
many
things.
There
are
more
things
that
are
challenging
than
things
I
find
easy
to
do.
But
that’s
also
a
part
of
the
fun.
Any
time
you
pick
a
exciting
project,
it
is
challenging.
You
hardly
ever
go
into
shoot
for
an
exciting
project
feeling,
‘Okay,
I
can
cakewalk
through
this.’
There’s
a
challenge
at
every
point.
When
a
film
is
coming
out.
When
you’re
promoting
it.
When
you’re
fighting
against
all
odds
to
get
a
film
to
its
audience.
When
you’re
waiting
for
the
audiences
to
respond
to
it.
You
have
to
be
good
in
your
project
that’s
releasing
today
for
you
to
be
working
on
something
tomorrow.
That
will
always
be
the
case.
When
you
start
off,
it
might
feel
like
this
phase
will
last
a
few
years
and
after
that,
it’s
going
to
be
comfortable.
But
I’ve
reached
a
point
where
I
realised
that
it’s
never
going
to
be
comfortable
to
just
sit
back
and
go
through
the
motions.