Fahadh Faasil On Attempting Comedy in 'Maareesan': 'It's Very Difficult Because I Think in Malayalam'

Fahadh Faasil is reuniting with veteran Tamil actor and comedian Vadivelu for his upcoming film Maareesan, after their delightful face-off in Mari Selvaraj's Maamannan (2023). In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, the Malayalam actor speaks about why he was pumped about working with Vadivelu again.

Directed by Sudheesh Sankar, the upcoming Tamil film, Faasil reveals, was supposed to be a Malayalam production. But once they decided to produce it in Tamil, casting conversations began. And Faasil was convinced there was only one actor that could pull off the role. Maareesan, which is headed for a July 25 release, explores the relationship between a man battling Alzheimer's (Vadivelu) and a thief looking to loot him (Fahadh Faasil).

"At one point, I said, 'So we need someone like Vadivelu sir.' The producer came back to me, and he's a Tamil producer as well, and he asked me, 'So why don't we just do it in Tamil?'. But then my only condition was, if you're doing it in Tamil, it has to be Vadivelu sir," Faasil tells THR India in an interview. "And then I kept wondering, would he do this? Because Vadivelu sir kept telling me how he wanted us to do a comedy film together. But he fell in love with it." And like that, everything fell into place. "That was the exciting part. I've never seen him in a character like this."

It was also a practical decision to set the film in Tamil Nadu. "The terrain is very important, right? This is a road movie, and in Malayalam, it was supposed to be from Trivandrum to Palakkad or something. This travel would have been completed in six-seven hours," Faasil adds with a laugh. Maareesan explores Faasil and Vadivelu's unlikely friendship that takes them on a trip from Madurai to Tiruvannamalai.

Vadivelu brings in a lot of layers to his performances, Faasil adds. "You know how when you read a book, there's something called reading between the lines? There are a lot of performers who try to bring that on screen, and I think he's one of the few actors who has those layers of intensity." Comedy is the hardest rhythm to crack, and that says a lot about a legendary comedian like Vadivelu, he adds.

Faasil, who was last seen in Tamil cinema in Rajinikanth's Vettaiyan (2024), will also be seen tapping into his funny side for Maareesan. Is it challenging to be funny in a language that's not one's mother tongue? Faasil agrees. "It's very difficult, because I think in Malayalam. So even if I have to improvise, I think in Malayalam and then I ask, 'So how do you say this in Tamil?'" The actor credits Vadivelu and writer V Krishna Moorthy in helping him with the translation.

Watch The Hollywood Reporter India's full interview with the actor dropping on our YouTube channel soon.