INTERVIEW
LAL JOSE/K B VENU
Director Lal Jose is known for the versatility of subjects and locations he chooses for his movies. After the success of Neelathamara, he is setting up his latest flick in a rustic atmosphere. Elsamma Enna Aankutty (Elsamma, the Boy) belongs to the hilarious genre of movies that audience expects from the creator of blockbusters like Meesamadhavan and Chanthupottu. The movie is an attempt to grab the throbs and flavours of Kerala’s village life, with realistic characters and natural settings. Lal Jose who has introduced a number of heroines like Kavya Madhavan, Samvrutha Sunil and Meera Nandan has Anne Augustine, a new comer in the lead role.
What is your latest movie Elsamma Enna Aankutty all about?
The story is set at the backdrop of a hill side village in Kerala. Elsamma, the protagonist is forced to take up the responsibility of looking after her family when her father, a drunkard and illicit liquor trader meets with a sudden death. Since he was the local newspaper agent too, Elsamma takes up the job of a newspaper distributor in the village. She also works as a local reporter. She is the eldest of four sisters and her irresponsible mother spends time either dozing around or visiting the village church. The younger sisters too are not serious about life. Visually the film is going to entertain the spectators with the scintillating beauty of early mornings in Thodupuzha, the sleepy high range township bordering the Western Ghats. The hero, played by Kunchako Boban, is a local milk vendor who also has his duty hours during early mornings. The newspaper girl and the milk vendor boy together will rock Balan Pillai City, the imaginary township where the story unfolds. Anne Augustine, my heroine, has portrayed the role to my satisfaction.
Why the heroine is called Elsamma, the Boy?
She takes up the responsibility of an entire family despite being a girl and behaves almost like a boy. She says she doesn’t like being called a boy, though she doesn’t hate boys. But she is of the opinion that majority of them are boring persons.
I had a feeling that the film has some resemblance with erstwhile movies like Ammayane Sathyam by Balachandra Menon or Rasathanthram by Sathyan Anthikad where we had girls disguised as boys…
Not at all. Some friends asked me whether this film has semblance with Chanthupottu in which I experimented with Dileep in the role of a young man with feminine mannerisms. We used such a cut in a song sequence but now even that doesn’t exist in the movie. It is just Elsamma’s peculiar and unique character that matters.
Your previous film Neelathamara was almost full of fresh talents, including the hero and heroine. This time too, you have a new heroine.
Established directors can always experiment with new faces. But new directors find it difficult to survive without stars.
Each film needs at least one star. It could be the artist, director or the producer himself. Take the example of Manjil Virinja Pookkal which was a big hit in the Eighties. Actors Mohan Lal, Shanker, Poornima Jayaram and the director Fazil were newcomers. But the production house, Navodaya, was a big name.
What is your evaluation of Elsamma Enna Aankutty?
I underwent severe mental strain during the shoot. I went about shooting the film without studying the climatic pattern of the place. Now I understand that Thodupuzha where I shot the film is Kerala’s Chira Punji. We had unexpected rainfalls all the time. I had to shoot for almost two extra weeks because of this. But it was a blessing in disguise. You can see the scenic greenery of the land and the black rocks and roads neatly washed in rain. I have also made use of almost eight waterfalls in the locality which are seen only during rainy season. I owe much to the rains for the visual beauty of the frames. The only constrain was that I had to be tense about meeting a deadline.
To what extent do you experiment with your medium?
As in any field, technological advancement is rapid in cinema. Now we have several versions of digital media to choose from. But I will make my films in celluloid so long as this medium exists. Because only celluloid can impart the romantic mood I expect to create in my movies. Celluloid is superior to the digital medium because it is capable of highlighting only those images that the filmmaker and the DOP want to show the spectators. The digital medium is incapable of providing even the exact darkness that we expect in movies. We can exclude whatever we don’t want to project on the screen. But in digital films you might see objects or images which the director actually wants to avoid. Digital films fail to provide the three dimensional effect that celluloid always promises. My first love is celluloid. In this film I have used the latest version of Kodak. I am a strong advocate of Kodak. I had dropped a project when the producer refused to provide me with this stock. DOP Vijay Ulakanath has done an excellent work He has used natural light to the maximum to explore the scenic beauty of the location.
Many films are remade with the support of latest cinematic technology in other languages. Your last film Neelathamara was the first ever remake in Malayalam cinema. That seems to have set a trend.
It all depends on whether the remade movies fetch money. If the spectators show interest in watching their nostalgic films with better technological support and fresh actors more films will be remade.
There seems to be a flurry of movies with young actors in the lead roles after the success of Malarvadi Arts Club and Apoorva Ragangal. How do you evaluate this trend?
When filmmakers depend on superstars like Mohan Lal and Mammootty, the themes revolve around them so as to suit their age. Now we have a group of young heroes. Filmmakers who are planning to go for plots with the same success formula of Malarvadi Arts Club are sure to bite the dust. If different subjects are chosen with the new talents there will be wonderful movies ahead.
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