ctor and filmmaker Dhyan Sreenivasan has made a candid revelation about his unconventional journey in cinema, stating that several of the film offers he received were initially intended for Dulquer Salmaan.
Speaking at a press meet for his latest film ‘Detective Ujjwalan,’ Dhyan was responding to a question about his seemingly lacklustre passion for acting. “From the first film of mine, I haven’t had a passion towards acting. I started off in cinema as an assistant director, so I’ve always wanted to direct films,” he said.
Reflecting on his early career, Dhyan explained that most of his acting projects came about because of friendships and associations. “I acted in ‘Thira,’ and after a one-year gap, I did ‘Kunjiramayanam’ because it was Basil’s film. Then I acted in ‘Adi Kapyare Kootamani’ because Aju Varghese and Neeraj Madhav were starring in it. I did ‘Ore Mukham’ in the name of friendship, and ‘Goodalochana’ because Aju Varghese and Sreenath Bhasi were in it. I acted in all these films just so I could work with my friends.”
After directing ‘Love Action Drama,’ Dhyan took a break from acting until after the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that he’s always been open about his approach to choosing roles: “I’ve always said in interviews that I work in the films that come to me. When I get good movies with strong stories, I tend to work in them – like the recent ‘Varshangalkku Shesham’ and ‘Detective Ujjwalan.’”
In a striking remark, he admitted, “The most important thing right now is the need for good writers and good stories. But when these stories reach me, they’ve already gone through different stages. For instance, the movie characters that came to me were originally intended for Dulquer Salmaan. First, they want Dulquer to do the film. But when no one else agrees to do it, the project comes down step by step, and finally reaches me. Since I don’t have any other plans, I willingly act in those.”
Dhyan also said that he often accepts these roles to support debutant directors and familiar collaborators. “Many of the people approaching me are acquaintances, friends, or people who’ve worked with me before. Thinking that their first film should at least make it to theatres, I choose to act in them so they can build a career of their own.”
Dhyan Sreenivasan was last seen in ‘Detective Ujjwalan,’ directed by debutants Indraneel Gopeekrishnan and Rahul G. Produced by Sophia Paul under the Weekend Blockbusters banner – the same production house behind ‘Minnal Murali’ – the film also stars Siju Wilson, Rony David, Kottayam Nazeer, Seema G Nair, Ameen, Nihaal Nizam, Kalabhavan Navas, Nirmal Palazhi, Josey Sijo, Nibraz Noushad, and Shahubas.
