In Oru Cinemakkaaran , director Leo Thaddeus, narrates the struggle of an assistant director. Vineeth Sreenivasan plays Alby, the assistant director trying hard to accomplish his dream of becoming an independent filmmaker.
“Alby has to go through several challenges in the process. Even then, it’s not just a cinema within a cinema. Instead cinema has been used as a backdrop and from there the story goes on to certain other areas,” says Leo, director of Pachamarathanalil and Payyans .
He adds that the break that he took after Payyans (2011) was not a deliberate one. “I was heading a private channel and was working on another script initially. Then this story was developed and I waited till this script matured into an interesting one.”
Personal touch
Leo Thaddeus
Leo had assisted director Bhadran and he feels that Oru Cinemakkaaran has traces of his own experiences and also those of assistant directors whom he has met while working in the industry.
“Vineeth has never worked as an assistant director in real life. But he has handled other areas of filmmaking and also has been closely associated with the industry. So it was not too difficult for him to play the role,” he says.
Leo feels that Vineeth has adopted a particular style of acting for the character, which is different from his earlier ones. “He has mostly been seen in lighter roles but Alby has been moulded in a different way. I believe this would be one of his best performances as an actor.”
Rajisha Vijayan is paired opposite Vineeth. She plays Sara, who is working in the tourism department. The cast includes Vijay Babu, Anusree, Lal, Renji Panicker and Gregory.
According to Leo, viewers are ready to welcome experiments in cinema now when compared to the period he made his previous films.
“Be it action, horror or comedy there is an acceptance for various genres. I often think that if Pachamarathanalil was released now, it would have been appreciated more,” he says.
As a storyteller, Leo says he is more excited about dealing with nuances of the mind when compared to intricate social issues. “My stories are more inclined towards handling relationships,” says Leo.
Oru Cinemakkaaran will hit the screens during Eid.
