‘Dies Irae’, ‘Kalamkaval’ actor Gibin Gopinath talks career from police officer to big screen

Gibin Gopinath, who stunned viewers with his chilling performance alongside Pranav Mohanlal in ‘Dies Irae’, has returned to the screen through Mammootty’s ‘Kalamkaval’. Gibin, who has taken five years’ leave from the police force to step into acting full-time, now has a slate full of films. Though he entered cinema through small roles, it was the part he received in Sunil Ibrahim’s ‘Y: Kathayil Chodyamundu’ that first brought him attention. Even though ‘Y’ was not a theatrical success, the film proved that Gibin is an actor who can confidently handle roles with weight.

Through his acquaintance with Haneef Adeni, he found his way into films like ‘The Great Father’ and ‘Mikhael’. Audiences have seen Gibin’s face in many successful films in recent years such as ‘2018’, ‘Vaazha’, ‘Kishkindha Kaandam’, ‘Minnal Murali’, and ‘Kannur Squad’. In Rahul Sadasivan’s ‘Dies Irae’, Gibin delivered a powerful performance as Madhusudhanan Potti, the descendant of Kodumon Potti from ‘Bramayugam’. His next release is Jude Anthany Joseph’s new film, with Vismaya Mohanlal in the lead. In a candid interview with Mathrubumi, Gibin Gopinath speaks about the joys cinema has brought him.

When did you begin to take your desire for acting seriously?

I’m from Koliyakode in Thiruvananthapuram. I was deeply interested in acting even as a small child. I cannot pinpoint exactly when acting first became a passion for me. From my lower primary school days, I was eager to take part in every stage programme, big or small. I was always present in drama clubs and theatre groups. A love for cinema naturally followed my interest in acting and theatre. By the time I was in Class 3, I was already going for auditions, responding to newspaper adverts looking for child artistes. That film never materialised. School life went by in a whirl of acting, singing, and drama. Joining MG College, where Lalettan (Mohanlal) studied, made my interest in cinema burn brighter. Film crews shooting in Thiruvananthapuram would come to the college looking for junior artistes. I was always at the front of the student groups who went along. I’ve been a junior artiste in many films from that period, including ‘Thandavam’, ‘Vakkalathu Narayanankutty’, and ‘IG’.

What gave you the courage to take leave from the police force to act in films?

I joined the police department in 2007. I had cleared exams and made it onto several rank lists, and chose the post with better salary. Some films prefer to cast real police officers, for which the production pays the department and gets official permission. I made good use of such opportunities in the early days.

I’m currently on leave for five years from the department. Before that, I used to juggle both work and acting. With the cooperation of colleagues in the department, I managed for some time without any major difficulties.

As the roles I did began to get noticed, the encouragement to continue grew. After a point, it became impossible to continue within the limits of the leave I could take. I realised that those helping me had their own limits and I shouldn’t trouble them further. Without thinking further, I applied for long-term leave.

It wasn’t the number of films coming my way but my passion and confidence that pushed me into taking that leap. Two weeks after I went on leave, my wife asked why I wasn’t going to work. She already knew about my love for acting. It was only after another month that my mother found out I had taken leave. My family accepted it, saying I should follow my heart.

During the promotion of ‘Kalamkaval’, Mammootty praised your performance in ‘Dies Irae’. How did that feel?

It was a moment of pure joy. Mammukka’s words filled me with pride. My first time acting with him was in ‘The Great Father’. As the first scene was about to be shot, I forgot all the lines I had memorised. I still remember that moment vividly.

Director Haneef Adeni had sent Mammukka the PhonePe advert I did with Dulquer. Receiving a reply from him made me very happy. He didn’t know I was a police officer until much later. During breaks on set, he would ask about my job. After ‘One’ and ‘Kannur Squad’, I came into ‘Kalamkaval’. The shooting took place in Nagercoil and the bordering areas. I could spend nearly forty days working with Mammootty Kampany. The role of Potti in ‘Dies Irae’ brought me considerable recognition. Even now, many who meet me ask about that character. People often say I naturally look tired. In the film, Madhusoodanan Potti is a construction labourer—sunburnt, exhausted, worn out. That helped me slip into the character quite easily.

Did you do any preparation to play Madhusoodanan Potti in ‘Dies Irae’?

No. Rahul Sadasivan told me no special preparation was needed, I just had to grow out my beard and show up for shoot. It was Din Nath Puthenchery, son of Girish Puthenchery, who brought me to the director’s attention after seeing one of my online interviews. Later I met Rahul in person. After our first meeting, he simply said, “We’ll see,” and sent me back. Some days later, he called at night. The first thing he asked was whether I still had my beard. When I asked if I should shave, he said, “No, keep it. We need that.”

Only after reading the script did I realise the scale of the character. I trusted the confidence the director placed in me. He is someone who captures exactly what he needs from an actor without creating any pressure. While filming many of the terrifying scenes, I had no idea how they would appear on screen. I was anxious until the first show was over. Once the premiere ended, messages praising the performance came from many places, and only then did I feel relieved.