M adhupal has gone for the best in his roles as writer and filmmaker. Director of two outstanding works in Malayalam cinema, Thalappavu and Ozhimuri , Madhupal’s works create a high level of expectation, though he has never been prolific as a director, either on television or in Mollywood. ‘Kali Ghandhaki’, only his third work as a director on the small screen, went on air early this week on Amrita TV. A different attempt altogether, it promises to be a welcome break for viewers who are so used to soaps, tearjerkers, supernatural dramas, rom-coms and the like. In an interview with Friday Review , Madhupal talks about ‘Kali Ghandhaki’, and his journey as an artiste. Excerpts:
What is the subject of the serial?
It is based on G.R. Indugopan’s novel of the same name. Kali Ghandhaki is a river in Nepal and the main idol at Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple is made with the salagrama (considered as sacred stones) from the river. The work is a blend of fiction, history and mystery. The serial is not an exact adaptation of the novel, because it is not easy to reproduce what is there in the book on to the mini screen. However, we have tried to bring a visual impact that complements the feel of those chapters. It is about a news photographer and artist Satheesh Chandran, who is trying to set up an art gallery with old paintings and photographs. But once he starts working on it, he faces several problems, especially when he tries to retrieve some paintings that are in a poor condition. He encounters bizarre people and situations. I had mentioned about this work to Shyam [Shyamaprasad, chief creative head of Amrita] sometime ago because it has the scope to be made into a movie. Later, he asked why it couldn’t be made it into a television series and that’s how I decided to do it.
Madhupal
How is it different from other serials?
We have moved away from the usual pattern of Malayalam serials. Whenever we have to do something out-of-the-box, the budget is a big problem. This is an effort to create something unique with a limited budget, all thanks to a group of committed technicians and crew and the support of the channel. I want to stress that we won’t be stretching the storyline for the sake of viewership. We will wind up when the story ends!
P.F. Mathews has written the script. We had worked together in the serial, ‘Daivathinu Swantham Devutty’ on Mazhavil Manorama, my second serial. Noushad Sherif has handled the camera. The main characters are played by Kiran Aravind, who has acted in films such as Philips and the Monkey Pen and Jo and the Boy, and debutant Aravind Mohan, G. Aravindan’s nephew. V.K. Baiju, Prakash Menon, Krishnan Balakrishnan, Neeraja Das, Vindhuja Vikraman and Lakshmipriya Menon are among the other artistes. I am also playing an important role. Kallara Gopan has scored the titled track- it is his first work as a composer. M.R. Jayageetha’s lyrics have been sung by P. Jayachandran and Aparna Rajeev.
Why aren’t you prolific as a director?
That is because I always try to move away from the usual format. I have directed two serials, ‘Aakashathile Paravakal’ (Kairali) and ‘Daivathinu Swantham Devutty’. We directors should understand that we are showing these serials to a generation that is exposed to brilliant products on English channels, streaming services and on the Internet. So there is no point in churning out the usual stories for them. I do keep a tab on Hindi and Malayalam serials so that I can understand what all possibilities are there and what I shouldn’t do! Channels have a lot of say on the content of a programme and that is not a scenario I am used to. I have to work with somebody with the right attitude and belief in my work.
Writer, actor, scenarist or filmmaker, which is your comfort zone?
Reading always comes first for me. It is the ultimate comfort zone and everything else started from that.
When can we expect another movie from you?
I don’t know when that will happen. As in the case of serials, we are making movies for an audience that has the whole world at their finger tips. Cinema is no longer a leisurely activity for them. I have to cater to their changing aptitudes and taste.
A huge change is the unprecedented viewership for short films. I have made a short film for the anthology, Crossroad , with Padmapriya playing the main role. If I am making a big budget movie, it is important that the finished product reflects the investment that goes into it, in terms of depth and quality. It feels good when people still talk about Thalappavu and Ozhimuri after so many years. Twelve universities have taken the script, story, characters and several aspects of Ozhimuri for their doctoral research. And I am astounded when these researchers come up with certain findings and situations that were included in the movie by mere coincidence.
‘Kali Ghandhaki’ airs Monday to Saturday on Amrita TV at 8 p.m.
