Frankly, I didn't feel anything while acting. I was joking and playing around before the intense scenes. Once the director says 'Action', I become Ramesan Nair. When he says 'Cut', I am back as Mohanlal. But I felt emotional watching the film in its entirety.

You mean you felt sad watching his plight?

Yes, my eyes welled up although I know it was I who was acting. I feel it is because of God's grace that something like this happens. Also, the brilliance of the director. Films like Thanmatra also just happen.

Not just critics, even ordinary moviegoers say it is your best performance after Vaanaprastham. Did you feel it was one of your best?

How can I judge my own performance? I feel fortunate to have got this kind of a project. You cannot judge the performance of an actor in isolation. A performance becomes good because of so many factors, including the other actors. So, if people feel I am good, the credit should go to Nedumudi Venu who acted as my father, Meera Vasudevan who acted as my wife, Arjun who acted as my son, Jagathy Sreekumar who acted as my friend. There is the director, cameraman, sound recordist...

Before we started shooting, Nedumudi Venu told me, 'Lal, it is a very complicated character, like travelling on a thread. You must be careful.' I prayed to God to help me.