I make conscious efforts to do something new as an artiste, says Ramesh Pisharody
The Hindu
The stand-up comic, actor and director is playing the lead in No Way Out, releasing in theatres on April 22
Ramesh Pisharody has been entertaining Malayalis for the last two decades as a mimicry artiste, stand-up comedian and actor. He has directed two films — Jayaram-Kunchacko Boban-starrer Panchavarnathatha and Mammootty-starrer Ganagandharvan. He also runs a production house, Ramesh Pisharody Entertainments, that produces television and digital content.
His first film as a protagonist, Kappal Muthalali, was released in 2009. Many small roles later, his second film as a hero, No Way Out, reaches theatres on April 22. “I did get offers after Kappal Muthalali. But I didn’t have the conviction to take up any of those roles. I felt that it would do no good for the director or producer. Also, I had other things on my plate. But in the case of No Way Out, I felt that I could pull it off and that it would benefit my career as well,” says Ramesh.
The film, a “survival thriller” directed by debutant Nithin Devidas, discusses suicide through Ramesh’s character, David, an NRI who invests in a business after he returns home. “But his calculations go wrong when the pandemic breaks out and the nation goes into a lockdown. In the face of a financial crisis, he contemplates taking his life. However, a series of incidents changes the situation,” he explains.
The theme would have worked even if the lockdown had not happened. “Our calculations can go wrong often, especially when it comes to money management. It’s just that in David’s case, it was the lockdown that landed him in a soup.”
Ramesh stresses that the role was physically and emotionally exhausting for him as an actor. “I could handle the physical strain. But the overall mood on the set was not a happy one because of the theme of the movie. There was a crucial scene which I had to shoot for 18 days. That left me drained,” he says.
There were no acting lessons or workshop prior to the shoot. “We took a doctor’s opinion to understand the mindscape of the character. But there were no reference point to get the emotions right because you never know what people go through when they feel there is no hope. I did what the situation and script demanded,” he explains.
The film was shot over 25 days and much of the action happens in that room where David is executing his plan.