In an exclusive interview with South First, Adil Ibrahim spoke about his character Mohammed Ansari, his experience while working in the series and his thoughts about films.
Published Nov 05, 2024 | 9:16 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 05, 2024 | 9:16 AM
Adil Ibrahim. (Supplied)
Malayalam actor Adil Ibrahim rose to fame with his popular TV show D4 Dance which was aired in Mazhavil Manorama in 2017.
Soon after he made his place among the family audience with his lighter roles in films like Nine (2019), Achayans (2017), and Lucifer (2019).
The young actor has now ventured into yet another new territory— a web series. Adil Ibrahim played the role of a police officer in the recent Malayalam web series 1000 Babies. The psychological thriller gained a good response from critics and audiences alike.
In an exclusive interview with South First, Adil Ibrahim spoke about his character Mohammed Ansari, his experience while working in the series and his thoughts about films.
Here are the edited excerpts.
Q. How did you bag the role in 1000 Babies?
A. My friend Shalu Rahim, who played the role of Gibran, asked me to meet director Najeem Koya. That’s how I got to know of the series, and also got the role. By the time I joined, they had started shooting, I wasn’t aware of the whole story too, but as I played the role of an investigator, I understood the plotline as the shoot progressed. The story was extremely interesting, which made me do this series.
Q. How did you prepare for the role of a police officer?
‘1000 Babies’ is a career break for Adil Ibrahim. (Supplied)
A. People so far have seen me as a bubbly person, as someone who presented reality shows and events. With this role, I wanted to break that image. For the role of a policeman, I worked on physical as well as mental characteristics. I had to work on my physique, at the same time my character Mohammed Ansari doesn’t talk much, so getting the body language right was all the more important.
Najeem helped me understand my character— Ansari is someone who follows his senior’s orders and is always respectful towards him. He is also very curious, and that had to be shown through small mannerisms.
Rahman sir, who played the role of my senior Aji Kurian, and Shaju Sreedhar, with who I had key scenes in climax gave me a lot of input, which helped me smoothen the edges.
Q. Mohammed Ansari is someone different from your earlier roles. What made you choose this role?
A. With the advent of OTT, it is a big thing to be a part of a web series with good content. The plot point of the swapping of babies was the major hook factor. I was sure people would love the series, and it would reach a wider audience, which in turn meant, a lot more people watching me.
Apart from getting to do a very different role, it also gave me visibility. This was also the reason for doing Lucifer, as I knew being part of a big movie would give me exposure. Even now people recognise me for my role in Lucifer.
Q. How was it working with Rahman and Neena Gupta?
Adil Ibrahim with Rahman. (Supplied)
A. I am a great fan of Neena Gupta, I loved her work in Panchayat (2020) and Badhaai Ho (2018). While I didn’t have scenes with her, I went to see her shooting.
With Rahman sir, I had a full-fledged role, as I was part of the investigation team. As I mentioned before, he helped me a lot throughout. Within a few days, sir was very free, and used to talk during breaks. Despite shooting a psychological thriller, we had lighter moments. The director also used to sing to lighten the mood during the shoot as we were shooting a heavy subject.
An ever-cherishing moment during the shooting was when we went to see veteran director Fazil during our shooting in Alappuzha. Conversations with him are surely memorable.
Q. How do you think web series are getting exposure in Malayalam?
A. Slowly, web series are gaining momentum in Malayalam and we must have such production houses which are keen to do series. Even while making 1000 Babies, we made sure to make a show which leaves a mark. Some series such as Pharma, and others are also in the pipeline.
Q. You started with the D4 Dance reality show and have come so far. What can you say about your journey till now?
Adil Ibrahim is popular as an anchor. (Supplied)
I am happy and proud to have started my journey with the dance reality shows in 2017. People still recognise me from these shows, and I’m fortunate to be part of the teams behind these shows. I like the TV audience.
However, I have always loved cinema, and have tried to stay relevant as an actor. For a cinema to work, there needs to be collaboration, and everyone has to pitch in.
So far, I have only worked on films that have come to me. In cinema, there is a hierarchy, despite working in TV and being a host, I didn’t get roles for a long time.
Now, I am happy to get good roles, even with 1000 Babies, Najeem Koya was particular that I am a part of the team, and it is an honour for any actor when a director chooses you.
I don’t want to be fin in a box as an anchor or actor. I want to be part of good scripts and do good roles, irrespective of it being a protagonist or an antagonist.
Q. What is the feedback you are getting for your role in 1000 Babies?
Adil Ibrahim has done majorly lighter roles. (Supplied)
A. We are getting a lot of positive responses from not only our country, but also from worldwide. The subject of babies being swapped is unique and the director knew there would be discussions based on this. The director had spoken about the major hook point in the third episode. After that, the story moves forward in an unexpected way which is one of the major highlights of the series.
Everyone are appreciating the new approach the series has taken.
We are also getting a good response for the characters done by Rahman Sir, Sanju Sivaram and Neena Gupta. However, writers Arouz Irfan and Najeem Koya are getting the most appreciation for the plot.
Q. Some people are saying the end of 1000 Babies didn’t work for them. Do you think the audience needs to be spoon-fed?
A. We have been receiving a lot of criticism against the modernised police station, saying that it was not realistic. I have also read a few of those comments online. But, that is the office of the special investigation officer Aji Kurian, which is well equipped with modern technologies. We have done this also because the series would be watched by people from other parts of the world too.
We have also shown a police station in Hebbal, Bengaluru which is a normal one. How long can we go with that realistic tag?
Q. What are your future projects?
A. Discussions for web series and cinema are ongoing. I have done a small film called Kallam which will be released in November end. It has a good story and is directed by Anu Ram.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
