Anni Mukundan in Jai Ganesh | Photo credit: Special Arrangements

When Anni Mukundan called. Jai Ganesh ‘Ek Mani’, his best film yet, he doesn’t say that lightly. “You don’t usually get films that change you as a person. This film changed me personally and professionally,” says the actor over the phone. Jai GaneshThe film directed by Ranjit Sankar will hit the theaters today.

Essay on wheelchair hero Ganesh Gangadharan opened his eyes to the lives he leads in cities built for the disabled. Somehow, we don’t ‘see’ the disabled in our midst. This is not a random movie. It changed me as a man.” The thriller gave him a new perspective on life. “Those of us who are not dealing with these physical challenges complain about the smallest thing. There are things that don’t go our way. And then we’ve crippled people fighting for the basics.

He didn’t want to showcase a ‘disabled hero’ for the sake of it and Ranjit Sankar assured him that it wouldn’t happen. “The representation will be such that it will bring laughter to the audience, especially the disabled. For me, it was a role, but think of it from the perspective of someone who has to spend his whole life in a wheelchair. Ganesh is a hero, a man with agency over his own narrative who doesn’t want sympathy.” And don’t we all love heroes? The aim of this film is not to gain sympathy but to show that they too are heroes.

It’s been a year and a half since his biggest hit, Malkapuram, was released. Its unprecedented success opened its eyes to ‘family friendly films’ for a section of the audience. “Malkapuram There was support from the family audience, which prefers child-friendly films. And when Ranjit came to me with this story, I loved it! He believes it will click with his niche audience.

In fact, he liked it so much that he came on board as a producer. Ranjith is the producer of Sankar’s Dreams N Beyond and Unni Mukundan Films. Unifilm is also a distributor. He became so close to the project that during the editing of the film, he felt that ‘a part of my life’ was being cut.

“We reworked the draft (of the script) 28 or 29 times until it took its current shape. For me, reading all those times gives you an idea of ​​how motivated I must have been. “Wanted to understand the dynamics. Talking with Ranjith made me appreciate him as a writer as well,” he adds.

One of the reasons Ranjith chose it was because “I looked the part because of my upper body strength—my shoulders and my arms—that someone who uses a wheelchair would constantly push himself around.” have to lift in and out and rely on their upper body for any movement.

Ironically, she was chosen for one of the things she is known for – her body. He was admired for the longest time because he was among the handful of Malayalam actors who maintained his physique when he made his debut in the 2010s.

Maneuvering a wheelchair was not a physical challenge, but the realization of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities was overwhelming. The physical and mental challenges of writing the character set it apart. “I am a physically active person who exercises, but after 10 days in a wheelchair, with no physical activity, I gained five kilograms. It (disability) takes its toll in many other ways. ”

A scene from the movie Photo credit: Special Arrangements

Jai Ganesh Hit the theaters with two big, anticipated films — Vineeth Srinivasan’s Varshangalko Shesham and Jeethu Madhavan’s Fahadh Faasil starrer Avesham. Ani is unconcerned. He is confident that the film will get a share of the audience, especially the family audience which is his strongest fan base. Malkapuram. The film is about two children who go to Sabarimala, Anni essays Ayyappadas, a civil police officer, whom they mistake for the god Ayyapan.

He understands the expectations attached to the film, as it is his first theatrical release since then. Malkapuram. “That was a good Friday!” He says while mentioning the success of the film. It was more than that, it was his first big hit that got him into the hearts of the audience and started ringing the cash registers. The film also brought him criticism from some quarters, which he says hurt him badly.

Annie continues, “Why doesn’t anyone talk about it? KL 10 muscle? A film set in Malappuram, in which I played a character named Ahmed. No one wants to discuss this movie. A year and a half later I am still waiting for someone to tell me what made the people angry in Malkapuram. What was the scene or dialogue that caused the reaction…?”

Jai Ganesh is playing in theatres.