It’s Horrible When Actors Direct Other Actors: Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran

Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran, who have previously worked together in films like Aanum Pennum (2021) and CU Soon (2020), play a married couple in Paradise, who try to enjoy their anniversary in a crisis-ridden Sri Lanka. The film uses the backdrop of an unrest nation to examine the lead characters and their relationship. The actors assert that one of the most exciting things about being an actor is that they get to learn a lot of things. “The whole idea of the clichéd line “living many lives” is interesting,” Roshan says. 

For instance, when Roshan had signed for Moothon, the actor had to learn sign language.  It was very empowering, the actor notes. “When a film’s subject demands some amount of research, I’m excited about the things that need to be done. I love it especially when there is a watch list or reading list. Sometimes it’s a skill and sometimes, it’s knowledge. So when I finish a film, not only am I better informed about a particular subject but there is also a feeling that if not for that film, I’d have been uninitiated when it comes to the particular subject.”

Darshana too likes to jump right into the learning sphere as soon as she signs a project. But the actors point out that an actor doesn’t usually say yes to a script only because the film addresses a certain topic or cause. Roshan says, “The topic it’s addressing is only an added advantage. It’s hardly a reason for an actor to say yes, unlike how it works for the writer or director.” Darshana adds, “It’s not like I want to talk about a particular cause and so I want to do a film. It’s about whether I’m emotionally connected to the story because as individuals, there are always some stories we want to tell.”

Paradise, starring the Malayalam actors, is helmed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage. The story too deals with an Indian couple who go to Sri Lanka. Naturally, the characters set in this world speak several languages including Malayalam, Tamil, English, Sinhala, Hindi and others. As actors who work in different industries, both Darshana and Roshan agree that the process of speaking multiple languages in a film is liberating. “You’re not restricted by the boundaries of language and you can go with the flow. It felt like how fluidly I treat language,” says Darshana. The actors had the freedom to sway between the languages and play with them based on what the scene demanded. “Even when I watched the film, I loved how the language shifted seamlessly.”

Deciding about when and how to shift between the different languages also got Roshan thinking about the politics in the usage of it. “There are a lot of questions I ruminated on like when does one shift to a language that the third person in the room doesn’t understand, why someone wants to keep a certain discussion private, when would someone use language to intimidate and more. All these questions came up when I was working on this film. And this is an exciting territory.”

Having known each other for several years, through theatre and cinema, Darshana and Roshan have seen each other improve with each film over the years. There are a lot of times when they double up as acting coaches too. Speaking about helping each other out as friends and co-actors, Darshana says, “Sometimes, I’ll know that there’s something wrong in a shot but he’ll want me to find it. He’ll not point it out.” It would be horrible when a co-actor is directing and I hate it, Roshan adds. He continues, “I’m also an actor. So naturally, when I’m seeing a scene being shot, some part of my brain is thinking how I’ll approach the scene. So, I shouldn’t impose my ideas. It should go through the director. And, it’s out of respect for your co-actors.”

Even when they have done plays together that Roshan has directed, he gave the actors the time to figure things out on their own and ensured any input goes only through the director, Darshana notes. “When you see something is wrong, it’s easy to say that you know the solution to the problem. But maybe, your help is not required there and you’re creating more trouble. You've to let the actor figure it out. This is something I’ve seen him do and have learnt from it.” Roshan adds, “This is something I’ve learnt from the directors who’re very protective of their actors.”