Acclaimed Malayali movie director A.K. Lohitadas is searching for new faces in Dubai for his next project.
In the world of cinema, where winners are feted and losers mercilessly dumped, writer-director A.K. Lohitadas is not exactly the flavour of the season. His recent outing with actor Dileep in the film Chakkaramuthu, was a box-office dud. Meeting the assault of defeat with grace, Lohitadas says the film failed because he experimented with his female protagonist (Kavya Madhavan).
He broke conventions with the heroine, which, he says, was rejected by a large section of the audience, who went to watch the film expecting a rib-tickling Dileep comedy. Now, the director is working on a new project that will have newcomers in the lead, a search for talent that he extended to the Gulf. He says youngsters in the Gulf are more confident, assertive and driven to succeed than their counterparts in Kerala.
He doesn't give away the thread of his new project but only says that the film, like all his ventures, will reflect social realities and issues that disturb him as a person. Of late, what haunts him most is the fragility of familial ties. "Parents find themselves cornered – alone and deserted. Their misery has a festering anguish – one that tells you something about the degradation of values ... and the eventual helplessness of human beings."
Lohi, as he is commonly known, is no stranger to breaking stereotypes. The films that he scripted earlier in his career – Kireedom, Thaniyavarthanam, Bharatham, Kamaladalam, Kauravar, His Highness Abdullah, Adharam and Amaram – were acclaimed for their creative brilliance, and were runaway hits. And all these films – soul-stirring stories sometimes inspired from real life – were true reflections of Kerala's ethos.
His first film as director, Bhooothakannadi, won the Kerala state award for Best Film and was the toast of several international film festivals. He went on to direct successful and critically acclaimed films such as Kanmadam, Arayanangalude Veedu, Joker, Soothradharan and Kasthooriman. Then he hit a roadblock. The director tried to pull off a casting coup with Mohanlal and Dileep in Chakram (which ought to have been Vidya Balan's debut). Issues relating to the script for the two male protagonists led to the project being scrapped.
Undeterred, Lohi went on to direct the film with up-and coming actor Prithviraj and actress Meera Jasmine. The film hit headlines for the off-screen affiliations of the lead pair and the director's alleged favouritism for the heroine. The film flopped.
No, he doesn't regret making it. But was it worth the trouble? He evades a direct answer. Lohi takes the personal trauma that haunted him for several months when the film refused to take off, without malice.
"I have never done anything that goes against my integrity and professional honesty," he defends.
FILMOGRAPHY
- Thaniyavarthanam A quasi-classic on human psyche falling prey to superstitions.
- Kireedom The film was a telling portrayal of father-son bonding. Priyadarshan later made a Hindi remake of the film titled Gardish.
- Bharatham About personal tragedy that haunts a musician's life.
- Kamaladalam The emotional trauma of an accomplished dancer.
- Bhooothakannadi Life and society through the eyes of a clocksmith.
- Kanmadam A tale of vendetta between friends turned foes.
- Arayanangalude Veedu One man's failed return to his roots.
- Joker Life in a circus troupe.
-Kasthooriman The sacrifices that strengthen human bonding.
