DAVID ADAMS speaks with Rajan Narayan about his portrayal of Myuran Sukumaran – one of the so-called Bali Nine whose life was famously transformed after he became a Christian while awaiting a death sentence for drug smuggling an Indonesian prison – in the upcoming film, ‘Execution Island’…
Sydney-based Rajan Narayan plays Bali Nine member Myuran Sukumaran in the upcoming short film, Execution Island. Based on the eyewitness account of Melbourne pastor Christie Buckingham, the film charts the final moments of both Sukumaran, to whom Buckingham was spiritual advisor, and fellow Bali Nine member Andrew Chan and the role their faith played as they were led to their execution for drug smuggling on Indonesia’s Nusakambagan Island on 29th April, 2015. Narayan, 33, speaks about his own faith journey and the similarities between his life and that of Sukumaran, how he came to be involved in the project and how it has impacted him…
When did you first hear about the Bali Nine and what was your initial reaction?
“I first heard about them when it was all unfolding – they had just been arrested in Indonesia and it was all over the news. I remember my initial feeling [was that] I had a bit of a gut fear about it. [Before I was a Christian] a lot of my life was doing drugs, selling drugs on a very small scale, and even shoplifting…When the story broke, I really felt for them because they were being portrayed as kingpins and all these big shots and I knew that they were just guys who had an opportunity to make some quick money and that’s all. That’s what I felt initially.”
A scene from ‘Execution Island’ – Cathy Burnside plays Rev Christie Buckingham and Rajan Narayan plays Myuran Sukumaran.
IN SHORT – RAJAN NARAYAN
A person I admire…”My mum”.
A film I’d recommend…”I don’t know why but The Shawshank Redemption’s in my head at the moment.”
A Bible verse that’s inspired me…”Jeremiah 33:3 – ‘Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know’ (NKJV).”
Did working on the film change that perception?
“It did. It really humanised the issue. I guess the public and the media were very polarised – that [either] ‘these were bad people’ or ‘bring our boys home, they’ve shown they’ve changed’. Working on the film really revealed to me that humans are very complicated, there’s a lot to us and this facet of their life, though it dictated a lot of what was to come, it wasn’t everything that they were. There was so much more in them and to them which, I guess, we saw…over the years they were in prison….So when I look at myself, I’m a little easier on myself with some of the flaws that God’s still working on and when I look at others, there’s a much greater sense of compassion and empathy because I know that what I see in this moment, right here, isn’t the whole picture.”
It sounds like you had a pretty amazing journey to faith yourself. Can you tell us a bit about that?
“I got saved at [age] 17 back in 2003. [But before that] my life was quite messy. My dad had to leave Australia for a bit – [Narayan’s family are Fijian Indians and when his father, a Hindu, returned to Fiji following the death of his own father there, the fact that he wasn’t an Australian citizen meant he had a hard time getting back] – so I found myself with no father-figure. Alcohol and drugs were a standard kind of offering where I grew up so I got into that quickly. And the music that I was listening to didn’t help as well – a rap culture that very much promotes that stuff. So I found myself in just a thick mire of anxiety and depression, really not wanting to live anymore but forcing myself to go on because I didn’t want to leave my mum and my sister. [It was] a very dark place…
“I grew up Catholic [Narayan’s mother had made some connections with the Catholic Church soon after the family had arrived in Australia], so I knew of this God or Jesus fella, but it wasn’t a real, tangible thing in my life. But then one night I was invited to a church youth group and I went because some friends had promised they’d buy some drinks after…One of the guys there just presented a Gospel message and it was the first time I’d heard that Jesus loves me no matter what I’d done, who I am – that He accepts me. It just blew my mind…God had me lined up in the right place at the right time and I just responded in faith…and over the next few days and weeks it just ate away at me – I knew that I had a new master now, a new purpose to life, and all that other stuff, it had to go. It was a radical letting go of a lot of things.”
How did you come to be involved in this project and do you have a background in acting or is this something new?
“Definitely something new. In the church youth group…I was always involved on stage in minor roles and helping out backstage with the sound and lights, that sort of thing. But [I had] no formal experience acting or anything like that. It was actually a friend of mine [Andrew Yang], who plays Andrew [Chan] in the film, who sent me a message – ‘Mate, check out this project, I think this is something you might be interested in’. … Both [Sukumaran and I] had very similar stories earlier on with the drugs and being caught up in the wrong crowd and trying to make a quick buck [so] I was very much drawn to the film…”
FOR PREVIOUS: FILM: EXECUTED FOR DRUG SMUGGLING, NEW MOVIE AIMS TO CAPTURE JOURNEY TO FAITH OF MYURAN SUKUMARAN AND ANDREW CHAN
I imagine the heaviness of the role and the fact you’re portraying a real person, brings with it some real pressure?
“It did. I was trying to be as professional as possible about it – I had the script, I was reading through it and getting into the role. But I remember the week before [filming] I was just really convicted that this just isn’t a job or something you’re [doing], this is a man’s dying wish. It really affected me – I went online for nights in a row and just started to look at every single video I could find of him and all the photos so that I could kind of sound like him and have that little eye twitch that he had when he was nervous – things like that…I’m not shy around people or anything like that, it was just knowing that everytime the camera is on, I better be doing this story justice. It was really heavy.”
What for you is the key message of the film?
“[I]t asks the question ‘Can people change?’ And the question’s very rhetorical because I guess we all know what happened to the boys in their time in jail…But there’s a lot [else] that comes up and I think everybody will get different things from it. One of themes [concerns] justice and fairness – sure, they did the wrong thing, but don’t we all? That was one of the things that was really prominent in my mind – we’re all broken and fallen. Redemption was another key thing. particularly in the end – it was jubilant, they were celebrating over the fact that they were about to meet their Maker, they were praying over Indonesia and shouting God’s praises just before the bullets came. That really affected me…”
Did your views on the death penalty change?
“With regard to the death penalty, it wasn’t [previously for me] a strong conviction…I guess it was a half-hearted stance I had taken to the question because you have to say yes or no to a question like that…[I now believe] we do not have the right to take someone’s life and we have every responsibility to help them to change, to find healing and transformation and wholeness. And, as a Christian, I know that [occurs] only in Christ. We have the responsibility to really help people – and not just people in prison on a death sentence but anyone who is suffering from societal injustice in any form – socio-economic and race, illness and disability, gender. It’s on the rest of us to support them, to help them, to create those opportunities so that they’re not left behind and out on the periphery and forgotten. This project has emboldened me, particularly about the death penalty, but about everything – I can’t just let these issues be little things on the side…My life has to be marked by a ‘Am I for this or against this and what am I doing about it?’ mentality.”
Another scene from the 12 minute film featuring Cathy Burnside as Rev Christie Buckingham and Rajan Narayan as Myuran Sukumaran.
What sort of shape has that taken for you?
“I find that it’s weaved into a lot of conversations I’ve had with people…and the conversations always leave people…kind of stunned about the things they know they should have considered already but just haven’t. Often there’s a follow-up and we get to talk a bit further. And I’ve even started to develop a bit of a resource, like…a guided conversation that people can have in their workplace. It’s not necessarily Bible-based but just talking about issues of justice and our part to play as regular citizens…”
Who do you see as the audience for this film?
“The way it’s done, I think anyone can watch it and really get something from it. I used to watch movies and TV shows all the time and now with kids [Narayan and his wife Joyce have two sons – Tobias, aged four, and Isaiah, aged 18 months], if I get 10 minutes by myself, like it’s a miracle and so the film only being 12 minutes, it’s short, straight to the point, no fluff…The other side of it is it touches on so many different points…I feel it’s the kind of thing that maybe everyone should see and it will be beneficial to everyone to think about the key themes of justice, especially [with regard to] the death penalty and redemption.”
Would you say your involvement in the film has strengthened or deepened your faith?
“Big time. I’m quite serious about my faith, not in a legalistic way or anything but Jesus is everything to me, and that was one of the things behind me even doing the role. When my friend Andrew contacted me, I’d known him a long time ago from a bunch of church-affiliated kind of movements, and as soon as I saw his name in my inbox, I though ‘Here’s a new adventure, something’s going to come out of this for sure’. In terms of the impact it had on me, I’ve been convicted to not waste any moments;…to make use [of] every moment, be it in conversations or even a smile. Just to always be switched on and alert and aware of what God’s doing in this world. Because it could be gone at any moment.”
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Execution Island is being released on 28th April for churches to screen. A study guide is also available. For more information, head to www.executionisland.com.au.
