‘Achan hasn’t made any effort to build me as an actor’: Madhav Suresh

As the courtroom thriller ‘Janaki vs State of Kerala’ (JSK) gears up for its theatrical release on June 27, actor Madhav Suresh, son of veteran Malayalam star Suresh Gopi, has opened up about nepotism and his own journey in cinema.

Speaking to Ginger Media Entertainments as part of the film’s promotional campaign, Madhav reflected on public perception about being a star kid and clarified the influence, or lack thereof, his father has had in shaping his acting career.

“People expect that being a nepo kid means a route map is already laid out for me. No, achan hasn’t made a single contribution in building me as an actor. He hasn’t made any effort to do that. But he has set several examples for me to observe and learn from. He never tells me what to do, but he leads by example,” Madhav said.

In ‘JSK,’ written and directed by Praveen Narayanan, Suresh Gopi returns to the screen in a legal role for the first time since ‘Chinthamani Kolacase,’ and shares the screen with his son, who plays a supporting character. Anupama Parameswaran headlines the film, with Divya Pillai and Shruti Ramachandran also playing key roles. The ensemble cast includes Askar Ali, Baiju Santhosh, Jayan Cherthala, Joy Mathew, among others.

Produced by J Phanindra Kumar under the Cosmos Entertainment banner in association with Karthik Creations, ‘JSK’ is distributed by Dream Big Films. The film is positioned as a compelling courtroom drama with a powerful underlying theme.

Reflecting on the theme explored in ‘JSK’, Madhav shared a personal experience where he stepped in after witnessing inappropriate behaviour directed at a woman.

“I saw a guy behaving in an inappropriate way with a woman. He was pinching her stomach. It’s not really a fun thing to do. They were strangers. I didn’t have to do much. I found out about the guy, and the guy knew I found out about him, and I never saw the guy again,” he revealed.

While drawing comparisons between himself and his father, Madhav noted: “I have got my father’s eyes and his temper.”