Nivin Pauly talks about Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, his career highs and lows, and Malayalam cinema's 1000-crore dream.

Sixteen years ago, he walked away from a coding job. Now, Nivin Pauly is anchoring a Rs 325-crore box office hit. Fresh off the success of Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, the Malayalam superstar talks about the making of the film, playing the villain in the Tamil movie Benz, and his wishlist of directorial collabs.

Malayalam superstar Nivin Pauly's career has seen spectacular highs, depressing lows, and now a record-breaking box office comeback. The former engineer with Infosys, who ditched coding for cinema 16 years ago, is peaking once again. His latest movie, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, has amassed a staggering worldwide box office collection of over Rs 325 crore.

After the phenomenal run, Pauly is hungry for more and has big dreams for Malayalam cinema - he has his eyes set on the Rs 1000-crore milestone. In an interview with Firstpost, he opens up about his rollercoaster journey, the crossover into a rare villainous role for Tamil actioner Benz, his creative takeaways from Bethlehem, and what lies ahead.

Excerpts from the conversation.

The pandemic gave rise to a slew of crime thrillers, investigation plots, and dark subjects that seemed to reflect the mood of the time. Slowly, that phase is receding into the horizon, and positive, lighter storylines are dotting the Malayalam film industry again. Your own Sarvam Maya and Bethlehem Kudumba Unit are prime examples of it. Both movies have enjoyed a stellar run at the box office. What's your take on them?

After the pandemic, people are living with greater freedom. The attitudes of the audience have changed. They are enjoying nightlife, travelling more often, and hanging out with friends and family whenever possible. It's almost like they are trying to make up for lost time. Just like them, I also feel the need to have more peace and happiness and want my films to reflect that.

We should never take the audience for granted and should always look to create more rooted stories. As filmmakers and actors, we should continuously evolve and meet their expectations and not get stuck with one particular genre of movies. The whole idea is to make movies that they can relate to.

As an actor, how would you describe your journey? You have had some tremendous highs and some lows, and now you're back with a bang and craving more. You are portraying a villain in the Tamil movie Benz, and there's a lot of talk about your character in the film.

When one travels abroad, the constant endeavour is to look for hidden gems, new spots, local cuisine, etc. So, when I accepted the role of a villain in Benz, I knew people would be surprised, but at least I would be trying to attempt something fresh. During the period from 2010 to 2019, I was mostly playing happy roles. After that, I started to attempt different types of roles in movies like Moothon and Padavettu.

The role in Benz is something I haven't attempted before. It's important to keep polishing your skills. In the interest of longevity, it's good to shift genres. You've seen that with our own Mammootty and Mohanlal.

Of course, my core audience likes me in roles that are laced with humour. Be it a thriller or an emotional film, I always see to it that there's an element of humour in most of my movies. When humour acts as a base, there's very little risk of repetition, and that's when the audience is ready to accept my efforts.

Sarvam Maya and Bethlehem Kudumba Unit have taken you right back to the top of the industry. Do you think it's the right time to kickstart a flagship project?

Yes, I would like to get involved in a flagship project that will further stretch the boundaries of commercial and creative success. Now that Bethlehem Kudumba Unit has done over Rs 300 crore in collections, the thought process now is to do even better.

Can we do a movie that will do over Rs 500 crore? Can we touch Rs 1,000 crore? It need not be a franchise. It can be a standalone movie too. Not that I have anything against the franchise model. It all depends on the idea. The key is to spend money in the right places.

So, as far as that flagship project is concerned, I'll be ready to launch it all when all factors come together. Of course, that has to be done while respecting the taste of the audience. The content has to be great to gain the desired commercial lift. If a great director, producer and actor get together, we can mould such a movie. I am ambitious about it, and hopefully it'll happen.

What have you learned from the making of Bethlehem Kudumba Unit? The combined efforts of filmmaker Dileesh Pothan, writer-producer Syam Pushkaran, and actor Fahad Faasil, who represent the production house Bhavana Studios, are evident in the result.

I've learned a lot from how Bhavana Studios works behind the scenes as producers to achieve great results. They gave complete freedom to director Girish and never bothered him with any suggestions or budget issues. They gave him the space he deserved, and the result is that we have a fantastic product like Bethlehem. As a producer myself with Pauly Jr Pictures, there was a lot to absorb from the likes of Dileesh, Fahad, Syam, and Unnimaya Prasad.

For instance, the writing department is something I consider the most important part of the equation. The script is everything. One may improvise during the shoot, but it's important to have a strong script. A lot of planning, effort, and time need to be given to writing for a project to become a huge success.

Malayalam movies have a success rate of five to 10 per cent at the box office, and we have to make sure that we give our film the best chance of success. So, it's best to take time during the script writing process.

Bethlehem, for instance, had a bound script. Director Girish was clear about having a complete script before the shoot commenced. All that you've seen in the film is in the script as well, be it the little emotions, surroundings, and shot placements. I remember reading that script in one sitting.

What's your take on Mamitha Baiju, the heroine of Bethlehem? She is making waves across South India after the success of Premalu and looks set for a big innings.

Mamitha is a kind, good-hearted person, and that reflects in her acting. Like me, she also doesn't have a cinema background. Her approach is very sincere and honest. She has already acted in two movies that have grossed over Rs 200 crore. She'll become an inspiring figure in the industry if she carries on like this.

What's your perspective on acting, and how have you tried to evolve?

I believe that the director is the captain of the ship, and it's important to trust him. It's important for an actor not to be acting. Why not just behave? One needs very subtle expressions to convey a certain emotion. The whole idea is not to overact. Sometimes, too much preparation can spoil things. Just try to understand what the character is going through in the scene and emote accordingly.

I've acted with all kinds of directors. Someone like Girish is convinced about having a full script at his disposal, while others like to keep improvising. I leave that with the director. Let him/her decide that process.

As a person who has seen plenty of crests and troughs in the industry, what lessons would you like to pass on to young actors trying to gain a foothold?

One of the things that I have learned from the industry is that success and failure are inevitable, and when failure hits, it's important to stay positive. I believe it's important to be instinctive and not overthink. Put in your due diligence, trust the director, and be in a happy space.

Which director would you like to associate with soon? I'm sure plenty of directors would love to have your dates now.

I would like to do a movie with director Amal Neerad. We all know the impact he created in the Malayalam industry with Big B and the subsequent movies. He presents his heroes in a different class; it's a dream to be associated with him. Some discussions are going on now with him, and hopefully they will materialise.

I remember after the stupendous success of Premam, director Alphonse Puthren had received several offers from the Tamil and even Hindi industry, apart from Malayalam, of course. But the pressure created by Premam was huge. He had this project called Paattu with Fahad, which didn't take off, and finally he didn't make a movie for years until Gold.

But we are back together, and the writing process is now on for our next flick. Though the movie is about bike racing and bikes, we have agreed that it should have an emotional core. I'm not just a friend of Alphonse; I'm a big fan of his talents too.