Director Nishad makes acting debut with Vaakku

Filmmaker M A Nishad is making his acting debut with Sujith S Nair’s Vaakku (The Promise). The script, penned by actor-director Madhupal, has Nishad playing a grief-ridden ambulance driver. Nishad will be portraying the character in two different stages of his life.

“It’s about a man whose life is completely drained of colour —someone who carries the weight of sadness within him. It was a challenging role for me, both physically and emotionally,” says Nishad, who had to put on 14 kilos for the part. Nishad drew inspiration from an ambulance driver in his hometown.

He added that the film will touch on some relevant issues faced by today’s youngsters. “It revolves mainly around the bond between the driver and his son, who is something of a hero to him. The father is uneducated and his son means the world to him. The film is split into two segments: one showing the driver in his 30s and the other in his 60s.”

When asked about his script, Madhupal tells us that he wrote it as an acting vehicle for Nishad and didn’t intend to direct it himself. “The script was written a couple of years back exclusively for this team. Though it’s not based on any actual character, it addresses some real-life issues. Nishad has performed well in the film,” he adds.

Nishad’s performance has been submitted for consideration in the upcoming State awards. Nishad had previously won a State award for his story of the 2017 film Kinar, starring Revathy and Jayapradha.
Veteran cinematographer Madhu Ambat (Pathemari, Adaminte Makan Abu) has photographed the film. Apart from Nishad, Vaakku also features Anu Hasan (as the female lead), Suraj Venjarammoodu, Sudheer Karamana, Ganesh Kumar, Parvathy Ratheesh, Pranav Ratheesh, and Maala Parvathi among others. Aju Thomas and S Muralidharan have produced the film. Bijibal has composed the background score.