How do you play a character you despise? Approach it without judgment, and remain honest to the story. That is how Ananth Mahadevan played a sexually abusive father in Yes Papa, directed by Saif Hyder Hasan. Walking into the role, the senior actor knew that it would take an emotional toll on him. 

“I am told many actors let go of the part. It’s eerie to play such a character. But as an actor, it’s your job to look for challenges,” starts Mahadevan. His apprehension regarding the role was outweighed by the need to shed light on the issue.

“You do the film because the subject needs to be highlighted. To some extent, the role scared me, but [you overcome it].” 

What helped him in his portrayal was having a supportive director and the knowledge that the film had the right intent. “The reason why I could pull off the four scenes that depict abuse is because the director handled them sensitively. The idea and intention wasn’t to entice. The abuse is never depicted; you leave it to the audience to understand.”

It’s not often that mainstream films deal with such pressing subjects. Mahadevan says that through his role, the movie highlights how seemingly innocent-looking men can be capable of heinous acts. “We had to fight stereotyping. The character is soft-spoken, sings and doesn’t look menacing. He is your typical man-next-door. We tried to give him touches of a regular man who is capable of monstrous things.”

Yes Papa, which also stars Geetika Tyagi, was recently screened for the National Human Rights Commission.