Joy Thakkolkkaran and his gang are back! The enterprising entrepreneur who came up with incense sticks made from elephant dung is trying his luck with packaged drinking water this time around. Ranjith Sankar is bringing Punyalan Private Ltd , the sequel to Jayasurya-starrer Punyalan Agarbattis (2013), to the marquee this Friday.
Wholesome entertainer
While Punyalan Agarbattis turned out to be a wholesome entertainer, the sequel too promises a lot of laughs and drama going by its teasers and trailers. But Ranjith has his fingers crossed. “A sequel has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that people know the characters and will definitely go to theatres to see them in action. But, the problem is they come with a lot of expectations and it is quite a challenge to rise up to that,” says Ranjith.
This time Joy is hitting the market with what he hopes is a water-tight plan — packaged drinking water, branded as ‘Punyalan Vellam’. His aim is to monopolise the world market! Ranjith says that while the movie has generous doses of humour, it touches upon several flaws in the system and society. As in Punyalan Agarbattis Joy has to overcome many hurdles and eventually ends up taking things in his own hands to get things going. In the teaser, one finds Joy fuming over hartals, ban on beef, communal tensions and other current issues.
Ranjith Sankar
Ranjith says that he had a lot of stories in mind for the sequel, but none of them worked out. The story of the sequel was planned as a separate film. “However, things panned out in such a way that we thought we would make it Joy’s story.” Ranjith has written the story and screenplay.
It is his fourth film with Jayasurya, with whom he is producing (Dreams N’ Beyond) and distributing (Punyalan Cinemas) the movie. Dwelling on their association, Ranjith says: “The reality is that none of the four films were planned with Jayan in mind. However, somehow we ended up working together. People ask me about the comfort level I have with him. Actually I don’t like to have a comfort zone. I love to get out of that zone in my work place because that is more challenging for me as a filmmaker. In the case of Jayasurya, I have noticed that he has evolved as a person over these years, which I believe is more important than judging an actor by his acting talent.”
Looking back
While artistes such as Aju Varghese, Sreejith Ravi and Sunil Sukhada are acting in the sequel as well, new entrants include Vijayaraghavan, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Guinness Pakru and Arya. Music is by Anand Madhusoodanan, his third film with Ranjith, and Vishnu Narayanan has cranked the camera.
Jayasurya and Guinness Pakru in a scene from Punyalan Private Ltd
Meanwhile it is Ranjith’s 10th movie and the techie-turned-filmmaker who has proved his mettle time and again with fresh themes is ecstatic. “I never thought that the journey would go beyond Passenger because I am not from the cinema industry and have no god fathers. So my idea was to make just one movie. I assumed it would a flop, but since my wife and I are computer engineers, our plan was to go abroad and earn enough to make up for the loss. It feels incredible to know that I have stayed put to make 10 films.”
His oeuvre has thrillers (Passenger and Arjunan Sakshi), feel-good stories (Su..Su..Sudhi Vathmeekam and Molly Aunty Rocks ), satire (Punyalan Agarbattis) and emotional narratives (Varsham and Ramante Edenthottam).
“The story is the key in all the films and I love experimenting with themes and treatment. However, ultimately, the audience has to like the product and I can only try to give the best from my part. Recently I saw Thor Ragnarok with my children and realised that I would never be able to make a children’s movie in Malayalam because their taste and preferences are way beyond what I can imagine. However, I want to direct an action film. May be a biopic also. It was a dream to tell a love story and Ramante Edenthottam fulfilled that to some extent. Nevertheless I want to bring a teenage love story on screen...” he signs off.
