Why I think Shane Nigam is a big deal ?
It was in 2013 that the movie, Annayum Rasoolum released. A decisively dark take on the Shakespearean tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, set in the busy alley-ways of Fort Kochi, it was a doomed love-story between this Muslim taxi-driver who falls hard, for a Christian girl working as a retail staff for a saree shop. The movie itself. while not really a big commercial hit, was one of those early signs of the greatness that Fahadh Fazil, the method actor in Kerala, was poised to break out for.
A lot of you would probably have noticed this lanky youth prone to violence and angst who plays the younger brother to Andrea Jeremiah's character of Anna in that movie. An overprotective, irascible younger brother who lights the fuse for the explosion later on in the movie. That youngster - Shane Nigam, disarmingly handsome with his dimpled smile and those twinkling dark eyes that can turn at will into liquid pools of expression of pain or despair, went on to be launched as a hero, by the same director/producer Rajeev Ravi in this controversial movie Kismat. It again was based on the topics of forbidden love - different faiths, this time complicated by a young man falling for an older woman.
Shane shone ( pardon the pun!) and his Kismat was set for higher peaks.
A few years later, this young actor, all of 24 years, is still making waves for his intense portrayals of a hapless hero, caught down by the societal norms, struggling against draconian rules. I personally have liked all his characters and the amount of passion, he brings alive to the screen.
Here are top five picks (mine) of Shane, that are a proof of his immense potential.
1. Eeda (2018, Streaming now on Netflix):
Caught in the smoldering fire of political violence and hatred, bred over ages between feuding families in the explosive turbulent Kannur. Shane plays Anand, who falls for the wrong girl from a family whose political ideologies are the opposite of what Anand's family believe in. I loved the movie - and both Nimisha and Shane are excellent. Young love, tempered by feudal politics and threatened by hate-mongering in the by-lanes of a burning Kannur brought to a stand-still by bandh and violence.
2. Parava (2017, Streaming now on Hotstar)
Parava is the story of two young boys, a brilliant portrayal of the pigeon-racing phenomenon in the streets of Mattanchery. Shane plays the older brother of Amal Shah and is mostly relegated to the background for the first half. Brooding, reclusive and filled with anger about a mishap from his past. This is also the directorial debut of Soubin Shahir and is a refreshing movie on boyhood. But the second half of this movie soars above the rush of hormones and the hesitant school-romances into something darker and compelling. The movie is perhaps remembered for Dulquer's heart-searing cameo performance but Shane Nigam as the tortured young man, really smolders in his role.
3. Kismat (2016, couldn't find it on any OTT)
The movie that probably set Shane on to the big screen fully and into our hearts. An absolutely stellar heart-rending performance, this story is again on the forbidden love between a younger muslim boy who falls for an older Hindu woman - that sets them in the cross-hairs of the regressive society who cannot accept their love.
4. Kumbalangi Nights (2019 Now in Theaters)
One of the breakout movies of early 2019, this movie, as Malayalam Cinemas has done in the recent past ( Think Maheshinte Prathikaram, Angamaly Diaries) delves deep into a sleepy village hamlet in Kerala - portraying the evils and the broken fissures that goes deep beyond the beautiful rural setting. Shane plays one of the four brothers, who are the main focal point of the story. Their feuds, bitterness and ultimate redemption is what the story is. His performance draws parallel to the early days of Lalettan (Mohan Lal) which is, by any points of comparison, highest praise indeed.
5. C/o Saira Banu (2017, Streaming now in Hotstar)
A commercial success, Shane plays a lighter role in this compared to his other intense portrayals. A young college-boy wrongly convicted in a case, this one's got the Manju Warrier class stamped all over it. But it's refreshing to watch Shane not play the intense young man role as he settles into the skin of this boy obsessed with photography to take after the footprints of his father.
A lot of you would probably have noticed this lanky youth prone to violence and angst who plays the younger brother to Andrea Jeremiah's character of Anna in that movie. An overprotective, irascible younger brother who lights the fuse for the explosion later on in the movie. That youngster - Shane Nigam, disarmingly handsome with his dimpled smile and those twinkling dark eyes that can turn at will into liquid pools of expression of pain or despair, went on to be launched as a hero, by the same director/producer Rajeev Ravi in this controversial movie Kismat. It again was based on the topics of forbidden love - different faiths, this time complicated by a young man falling for an older woman.
Shane shone ( pardon the pun!) and his Kismat was set for higher peaks.
A few years later, this young actor, all of 24 years, is still making waves for his intense portrayals of a hapless hero, caught down by the societal norms, struggling against draconian rules. I personally have liked all his characters and the amount of passion, he brings alive to the screen.
Here are top five picks (mine) of Shane, that are a proof of his immense potential.
1. Eeda (2018, Streaming now on Netflix):
Caught in the smoldering fire of political violence and hatred, bred over ages between feuding families in the explosive turbulent Kannur. Shane plays Anand, who falls for the wrong girl from a family whose political ideologies are the opposite of what Anand's family believe in. I loved the movie - and both Nimisha and Shane are excellent. Young love, tempered by feudal politics and threatened by hate-mongering in the by-lanes of a burning Kannur brought to a stand-still by bandh and violence.
2. Parava (2017, Streaming now on Hotstar)
Parava is the story of two young boys, a brilliant portrayal of the pigeon-racing phenomenon in the streets of Mattanchery. Shane plays the older brother of Amal Shah and is mostly relegated to the background for the first half. Brooding, reclusive and filled with anger about a mishap from his past. This is also the directorial debut of Soubin Shahir and is a refreshing movie on boyhood. But the second half of this movie soars above the rush of hormones and the hesitant school-romances into something darker and compelling. The movie is perhaps remembered for Dulquer's heart-searing cameo performance but Shane Nigam as the tortured young man, really smolders in his role.
3. Kismat (2016, couldn't find it on any OTT)
The movie that probably set Shane on to the big screen fully and into our hearts. An absolutely stellar heart-rending performance, this story is again on the forbidden love between a younger muslim boy who falls for an older Hindu woman - that sets them in the cross-hairs of the regressive society who cannot accept their love.
4. Kumbalangi Nights (2019 Now in Theaters)
One of the breakout movies of early 2019, this movie, as Malayalam Cinemas has done in the recent past ( Think Maheshinte Prathikaram, Angamaly Diaries) delves deep into a sleepy village hamlet in Kerala - portraying the evils and the broken fissures that goes deep beyond the beautiful rural setting. Shane plays one of the four brothers, who are the main focal point of the story. Their feuds, bitterness and ultimate redemption is what the story is. His performance draws parallel to the early days of Lalettan (Mohan Lal) which is, by any points of comparison, highest praise indeed.
5. C/o Saira Banu (2017, Streaming now in Hotstar)
A commercial success, Shane plays a lighter role in this compared to his other intense portrayals. A young college-boy wrongly convicted in a case, this one's got the Manju Warrier class stamped all over it. But it's refreshing to watch Shane not play the intense young man role as he settles into the skin of this boy obsessed with photography to take after the footprints of his father.
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