How far can a mother go to help her son fulfil his dream? Will she stand by him through thick and thin? C/O Saira Banu moves through the life of such a mother and son.
Expectations have been riding high ever since the teaser of the film was released a few weeks ago. Manju Warrier and Shane Nigam as the mother and son and Amala Akkineni’s comeback to Mollywood after 25 years have been talking points.
Antony Sony
Antony Sony, who made a mark with the multiple award-winning short film, Moonamidam , debuts as a director with this movie. An assistant to Rosshan Andrrews in four of his movies, Antony says that C/O Saira Banu is inspired by a real-life story. “ Moonamidam was getting screened at a short film festival and there I met this mother who represented her filmmaker son. She knew everything about filmmaking and technology and spoke with so much passion about her son and his work. Their relationship struck a chord with me and that’s how I thought about such a story,” says Antony.
The movie has been scripted by RJ Shaan, who had written Moonamidam also. “Shaan assisted Rosshan sir in How Old Are You and that’s how we got to know each other. When Moonamidam got rave reviews, a producer approached us saying he was willing to invest if we were planing to make a movie. After brainstorming several stories, we decided to explore the relationship between the mother and son,” says the 29-year-old engineer-turned-filmmaker.
Stellar cast
Manju was their first choice to play Saira Banu, a postwoman. “Having worked in How Old Are You , we knew her quite well. We had confidence in the script, but had doubts about whether she would play the role of a mother. But she had no qualms about doing the character, because she was pleased with the script,” Antony says.
Shane plays Joshua Peter, a law student. His ambition is to become a photographer like his father, Peter George, who went missing during one of his assignments. “Saira is a homely woman. Although the story unfolds in Kochi, Saira has a Malabari accent since she hails from Malappuram. A lively woman, she fully supports her son’s dream to become a photographer. But certain incidents turn their life upside down. Annie John Tharavadi, a lawyer played by Amala ma’am, then comes in to their lives,” says Antony.
Antony Sony, director of C/O Saira Banu with Amala Akkineni and Manju Warrier
He admits that the team was quite excited about working with Amala. He adds that the original story had a male advocate. But many actors they approached had reservations about working in a female-oriented theme. “We tried many options, including Nagarjuna sir. When things didn’t work out, we decided to go with a female advocate and contacted Amala ma’am. Initially she said no to the project because she didn’t have dates. Then we tried many other actresses. But one day she got back to us saying she was willing to rethink about the role provided we could reschedule the shoot. And we did it! We are ecstatic is that she is making a comeback to Malayalam through our movie although many filmmakers have been trying to get her dates for long...,” Antony says.
Talking about the two actors, he says that Manju is any director’s delight. “She will do anything for the role and it is always exciting to work with her. We hope the movie has done justice to her calibre. As for Amala ma’m, she is a great artist and we were overwhelmed by her down-to-earth personality,” he adds.
Also in the cast are Niranjana, who is paired opposite Shane, Biju Sopanam (famous for his role in sitcom, Uppum Mulakum on Flowers TV), John Paul, Joy Mathew, Indrans and KB Ganesh Kumar, among others. Bipin Chandran, scenarist of 1983 and Pavada , was “roped in specially to write the dialogues”. Mejo Joseph is the composer. Abdul Rahim, who worked with Antony in Moonamidam , debuts as the cinematographer. The film is produced by Eros Entertainment and Maqtro Pictures. The movie is slated to release next week.
