CHENNAI: Comedian and actor, Danish Sait wants to take some rest. “I have been out of the house for six months. I just want to relax right now,” he says. Many will concur that Sait’s reasons to take a break are just. The artiste recently announced that he is part of the revered filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery’s upcoming film Malaikottai Vaaliban, which will also star Mohanlal, one of the icons of Malayalam cinema.
Sait insists working with Pellissery and Mohanlal has been an ‘incredible experience’. “Working with Mohanlal sir, who is an icon of our country, was an absolute honour and a privilege for me. I am extremely grateful to our director Lijo for giving me the opportunity. I had some incredible conversations with the two of them. The entire crew comprised of highly accomplished people and it was fantastic to work with them. It is perhaps the greatest experience of my career so far,” shares Sait.
During the shoot, the cast and crew had erratic schedules, and the filming happened in some difficult conditions. The group was isolated, and Sait feels that experience made him more comfortable with himself. “A lot of the places where we were shooting were in the wilderness. Usually, my wife accompanies me to all my shoots, but the conditions and my work timings were so hard that I couldn’t take her with me. Naturally, I got to spend a lot of time with myself,” he says.
Malaikottai Vaaliban, which doesn’t have a release date yet, will be Sait’s debut in Malayalam cinema. He also acted in the recently released TV series on Netflix titled Scoop, which was helmed by the prominent filmmaker Hansal Mehta. In the show, Sait plays the character Sushant, an anchor at a news channel.
“I did not face too many difficulties playing that character because I have vast experience as a TV presenter. So it’s not like I had to research a lot. I did not have too much time either. I was part of the IPL bubble in Mumbai then and had about a day in the middle to shoot for Scoop and I decided to do it. I even got to meet Hansal sir that day. He was very sweet and it all worked out well,” he says.
For Sait, there was a very distinct reason behind choosing to work on Malaikottai Vaaliban and Scoop, and that is American actor-comedian Bob Odenkirk’s (Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame) memoir Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama. “So, Bob Odenkirk had released his memoir just around when I was doing the IPL last year. I happened to get hold of that book, and around then, I was itching to do something different. It gave me great insight into the world of drama and the many kinds of possibilities it offers. I have always reinvented myself from working on the radio to making digital content and now to doing films,” shares Sait.
Despite constantly reinventing, Sait, for the better part of his career, has been a lone wolf. But working with people like Pellissery and Mehta has given him a sense of ease. “I think after One Cut Two Cut released, I found myself getting tired of leading projects. When you mount a project, bring people together and take the responsibility on your shoulders, you sometimes lose out on the craft. Here in the case of Scoop or Malaikottai Vaaliban, it was more about submitting to another person’s vision. Both Pellissery and Mehta are among our country’s best creators. So, it kind of reset me as an artiste, and it has been a good one so far,” he concludes.