Actor Sandeep Pradeep has an ease about him that has endeared him to the viewers. And he appears to be transferring in the direction of one thing massive, going by the movies in his kitty.
While he breezed by his position because the overconfident boxer, Shifas Ahmed, within the sports activities comedy flick, Alappuzha Gymkhana, in his subsequent launch, Padakkalam, he’s sharing the display with Sharafudheen and Suraj Venjaramoodu. To high all of it, he’s enjoying the lead within the new challenge from the workforce of the gripping, slow-burn thriller, Kishkindha Kaandam, directed by Dinjith Ayyathan.
Actor Sandeep Pradeep
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Sandeep’s massive ticket to fame has been Nithish Sahadev’s Falimy, wherein he was beloved by the viewers for his dialogue supply and comedian timing, enjoying Basil Joseph’s youthful brother. His earlier movies are Pathinettam Padi and Antakshari, and Ek Din, which has not been launched but.
“Within a month of Falimy’s release, I got a call for Alappuzha Gymkhana. That offer itself was a confidence booster and when I learnt that I was among the main characters I was on cloud nine. Even though I was apprehensive about going for a physical transformation to play the boxer, I could pull it off, thanks to the long hours I spent at the gym and boxing lessons.” Alappuzha Gymkhana, Sandeep says, has made him physically and mentally strong.
The movie explores the journey of a bunch of kids, who after failing their Plus 2 exams, strive studying boxing to get admission in faculty through the sports activities quota. At 27, was it troublesome enjoying a pupil? “Not really. It was easy to feel and look that age because of the vibrant team of actors on the set. The vibe helped me pull off that character.”
The response for the film and his character has been overwhelming, he provides. “I am happy that the effort we all put in did not go in vain. Youngsters have loved the film and we all are elated by that.”
Sandeep Pradeep in a nonetheless from Alappuzha Gymkhana
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Sandeep says that executing the boxing scene within the second half was the hardest. “We were up against real boxers who overpowered us with their punches. Rahman ikka (director Khalid Rahman) said I should try to do the scene in one shot.”
He was up in opposition to Sadak, a professionaI kickboxing champion. “It was challenging to take the blow in one take, without anticipating the punch. So, neither I nor Sadak could fake anything. I managed to pull it off, the result being a lot of pain and a sprained neck,” he says, laughing.
The combat within the climax outdoors the boxing ring was additionally difficult. “We even injured each other unknowingly in the thick of action! I got a nasty hit near my eye.”
Sandeep is fast to level out the brilliance of Jamshi Khalid, the cinematographer, whereas capturing the combat scenes. “It was stunning to see how he and his camera moved with the boxers. The action was happening in a limited space and there were multiple fights. He managed to make each fight look different from the other and I was an awe of how he did that.”
The actor additionally gushes concerning the solid, comprising seniors and recent faces — Naslen Gafoor, Lukman Avaran, Ganapathi, Franco Francis, Baby Jean, Karthik, Shon Joy and Shiva Hariharan. “The seniors helped me a lot, without throwing their weight around. All of us chilled in the same caravan and I am happy to have made so many friends with this movie.”
Sandeep says he at all times needed to turn out to be an actor. “Cinema always fascinated me. Whenever someone asked what I wanted to be I would be confused. I found the answer in the characters I saw in the movies. I became so attached to the medium that I felt that if I become an actor I could be whoever I wanted to be!”
Short movies have been his first step in the direction of this, beginning together with his faculty days in his dwelling city, Vaikom. He had a bunch of like-minded associates, which included Anand Menen, who went on direct Gouthamante Radham and Vaazha – Biopic of a Billion Boys. “I am comfortable in front of the camera because it has been a part of life since I was in school. Also, I have always worked with my friends and so there is no stress or fear when I act.”
Actor Sandeep Pradeep
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After finishing his Plus 2, he studied VFX in Bengaluru since his household needed him to study one thing that may assist him discover a job. “I joined the course hoping that I would get to do something in movies if not acting.” He continued to behave whereas pursuing the course and later when he labored as a VFX artist with an MNC in Bengaluru.
Among his notable shorts is Anand’s Shanthi Muhurtham and Nithish Sahadev’s Magneto. He did an online sequence in the course of the pandemic, Kalyana Kacheri, directed by Anand, which was beloved by viewers.
Actor Sandeep Pradeep
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Commenting on his new challenge with the Kishkindha Kaandam workforce, Sandeep says, “I am not allowed to say anything about that film. I feel it is a new attempt in Malayalam cinema. When I met them, Bahul chettan (Bahul Ramesh, scriptwriter and cinematographer) said, ‘I don’t know how to narrate the story. So you just read it.’ I was floored by what I read. We have seen his brilliance as a writer in Kishkindha Kaandam. For me, the excitement lies in working with the team behind such a terrific film.”
In Padakkalam, releasing on May 8, he’s enjoying an engineering pupil, Jithin. “It is a fun movie with some fantasy elements thrown in.” Also within the solid are Arun Pradeep, Arun Ajikumar and Saaf Boi.
Published – April 28, 2025 09:27 pm IST
