Actor Sandeep Pradeep: ‘Alappuzha Gymkhana’ made me bodily and mentally robust
Actor Sandeep Pradeep has an ease about him that has endeared him to the viewers. And he appears to be shifting in direction of one thing massive, going by the movies in his kitty.
Whereas he breezed by means of his position because the overconfident boxer, Shifas Ahmed, within the sports activities comedy flick, Alappuzha Gymkhana, in his subsequent launch, Padakkalam, he’s sharing the display screen with Sharafudheen and Suraj Venjaramoodu. To high all of it, he’s taking part in the lead within the new challenge from the workforce of the gripping, slow-burn thriller, Kishkindha Kaandam, directed by Dinjith Ayyathan.
Actor Sandeep Pradeep
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Sandeep’s massive ticket to fame has been Nithish Sahadev’s Falimy, wherein he was liked by the viewers for his dialogue supply and comedian timing, taking part in Basil Joseph’s youthful brother. His earlier movies are Pathinettam Padi and Antakshari, and Ek Din, which has not been launched but.
“Inside a month of Falimy’s launch, I bought a name for Alappuzha Gymkhana. That supply itself was a confidence booster and after I learnt that I used to be among the many most important characters I used to be on cloud 9. Though I used to be apprehensive about going for a bodily transformation to play the boxer, I may pull it off, due to the lengthy hours I spent on the fitness center and boxing classes.” Alappuzha Gymkhana, Sandeep says, has made him bodily and mentally robust.
The movie explores the journey of a gaggle of kids, who after failing their Plus 2 exams, strive studying boxing to get admission in faculty by way of the sports activities quota. At 27, was it troublesome taking part in a pupil? “Probably not. It was simple to look and feel that age due to the colourful workforce of actors on the set. The vibe helped me pull off that character.”
The response for the film and his character has been overwhelming, he provides. “I’m comfortable that the hassle all of us put in didn’t go in useless. Children have liked the movie and all of us are elated by that.”

Sandeep Pradeep in a nonetheless from Alappuzha Gymkhana
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Sandeep says that executing the boxing scene within the second half was the hardest. “We have been up in opposition to actual boxers who overpowered us with their punches. Rahman ikka (director Khalid Rahman) mentioned I ought to attempt to do the scene in a single shot.”
He was up in opposition to Sadak, a professionaI kickboxing champion. “It was difficult to take the blow in a single take, with out anticipating the punch. So, neither I nor Sadak may pretend something. I managed to tug it off, the outcome being a variety of ache and a sprained neck,” he says, laughing.
The combat within the climax outdoors the boxing ring was additionally difficult. “We even injured one another unknowingly within the thick of motion! I bought a nasty hit close to my eye.”
Sandeep is fast to level out the brilliance of Jamshi Khalid, the cinematographer, whereas capturing the combat scenes. “It was gorgeous to see how he and his digicam moved with the boxers. The motion was occurring in a restricted house and there have been a number of fights. He managed to make every combat look totally different from the opposite and I used to be an awe of how he did that.”
The actor additionally gushes concerning the forged, comprising seniors and contemporary faces — Naslen Gafoor, Lukman Avaran, Ganapathi, Franco Francis, Child Jean, Karthik, Shon Pleasure and Shiva Hariharan. “The seniors helped me quite a bit, with out throwing their weight round. All of us chilled in the identical caravan and I’m comfortable to have made so many buddies with this film.”
Sandeep says he at all times wished to develop into an actor. “Cinema at all times fascinated me. Every time somebody requested what I wished to be I’d be confused. I discovered the reply within the characters I noticed within the motion pictures. I turned so connected to the medium that I felt that if I develop into an actor I might be whoever I wished to be!”
Quick movies have been his first step in direction of this, beginning together with his college days in his dwelling city, Vaikom. He had a gaggle of like-minded buddies, which included Anand Menen, who went on direct Gouthamante Radham and Vaazha – Biopic of a Billion Boys. “I’m snug in entrance of the digicam as a result of it has been part of life since I used to be at school. Additionally, I’ve at all times labored with my buddies and so there isn’t a stress or worry after I act.”
Actor Sandeep Pradeep
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After finishing his Plus 2, he studied VFX in Bengaluru since his household wished him to study one thing that may assist him discover a job. “I joined the course hoping that I’d get to do one thing in motion pictures if not appearing.” He continued to behave whereas pursuing the course and later when he labored as a VFX artist with an MNC in Bengaluru.
Amongst his notable shorts is Anand’s Shanthi Muhurtham and Nithish Sahadev’s Magneto. He did an online sequence throughout the pandemic, Kalyana Kacheri, directed by Anand, which was liked by viewers.
Actor Sandeep Pradeep
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Commenting on his new challenge with the Kishkindha Kaandam workforce, Sandeep says, “I’m not allowed to say something about that movie. I really feel it’s a new try in Malayalam cinema. After I met them, Bahul chettan (Bahul Ramesh, scriptwriter and cinematographer) mentioned, ‘I don’t know easy methods to narrate the story. So that you simply learn it.’ I used to be floored by what I learn. We have now seen his brilliance as a author in Kishkindha Kaandam. For me, the thrill lies in working with the workforce behind such a terrific movie.”
In Padakkalam, releasing on Could 8, he’s taking part in an engineering pupil, Jithin. “It’s a enjoyable film with some fantasy parts thrown in.” Additionally within the forged are Arun Pradeep, Arun Ajikumar and Saaf Boi.
Printed – April 28, 2025 09:27 pm IST