Just about every cineaste who saw Maheshtinte Prathikaram knew it was a winner. The National Film Awards jury thought so too when they recently selected director Dileesh Pothan’s tale of a sweet revenge as the best Malayalam film of 2016 and gave it’s scenarist, Syam Pushkaran, the award for the best original screenplay writer, stating in the citation that ‘the screenplay interweaves various idiosyncrasies of a small town in Idukki.’ Well, everybody except Syam pretty much expected a National award for his work, it seems!
“I knew that Maheshinte Prathikaram would be a hit in theatres because we had unconsciously brought in all the elements needed for a commercial cinema; it had a revenge track, a love story, beautiful songs and visuals, action... What we didn’t expect was the sheer level of acceptance for the film from critics and audiences alike. Maheshinte... was very much a joint venture by all those who worked on it and the screenplay was only one small aspect of it,” says Syam, who also won his debut Kerala State Award for the Best Screenplay, for the film.
The Kochi-based scenarist first found the recipe for success with Salt N’ Pepper (2011), which he co-wrote with writer-director Dileesh Nair. He subsequently co-wrote with others 22 Female Kottayam , Da Thadiya , Idukki Gold , Iyobinte Pusthakam , Sethulakshkmi in Anchu Sundarikal and Rani Padmini, all of which did fairly well at the box office. “I started off as an assistant director. I soon realised that Malayalam cinema needed scenarists and I turned to writing,” says Syam, a native of Thuravur in Alappuzha district.
Maheshinte... is his first solo effort as a scenarist. The very thread of the film was inspired by real-life incidents and personalities in his home town. “Both Dileesh and I are small town guys. The idea for the film evolved from a discussion on the dearth of realistic stories with a local flavour. We’re talking stories about the interiors of our land, villages, towns and people that were waking up to urbanisation; places like Thuravur, which only recently got a traffic signal, where painted flexboards have now given way to digital ones...,” explains Syam. “If you look at international cinema, the good ones always celebrate the local. I believe that the more local we go, the more international Malayalam cinema will become. It’s the same principal that has made an esoteric, regional art form like Kathakali, truly international,” adds the 32-year-old, who seems to have become a man of few words, a marked difference from the garrulous youngster of Salt N’ Pepper days. “I’ve reduced on the hyperbole – a bit!” he says, with a laugh. “With age comes wisdom, I guess. It’s all about value additions for me now,” he says.
The attitude reflects in his work too. Syam is among those new-age artistes credited with the realism wave in Malayalam cinema, none more so subtly shaded than in Maheshinte ... “More than realism, I’m a fan of minimalistic cinema. For this film, for instance, I keenly observed the strengths of both the director and Fahadh Faasil, the film’s lead actor, and incorporated it into the script,” says Syam, adding that it’s important to work with like minded people. “In fact, with all my directors, whether it was Aashiq, Amal Neerad or Shyju Khalid, and the actors, it’s been the same. My films have each been a combined effort, of self-discovery and re-discovery,” he explains.
At present the scenarist is working as the ‘creative director’ of Fahadh Faasil-starrer Thondimudalum Driksakshiyum , being directed by Dileesh Pothan and shot by Rajeev Ravi.
“It was an assignment that I begged to be part of, simply because I wanted to work with these two geniuses of Malayalam cinema. As a creative director I am doing a bit of everything, learning a lot about cinema and indulging in my love for the medium. Also, I believe that the future of cinema is in multi-tasking. You’ve got to know the ins and outs of each aspect of filmmaking,” says Syam.
He’s also working on a script with the other Dileesh, once again for director Aashiq Abu. Tovino Thomas is reportedly starring in the film.
“Over the years, I’ve tried to explore various genres of cinema, exploring my love for food in Salt N’ Pepper , rom-com in Da Thadiya , action drama in Iyobinte Pusthakam ... This new film will be a full on love story, another first,” says Syam, adding that we ain’t seen nothing yet. “I’m only a work in progress. It’s only that I got appreciation early in my career. The best is yet to come!” Malayalam cinema is looking forward to it.
Fact file
Syam was a fashion designer before he got into the movies
His room-mates during his early days were the two Dileeshs
Unnimaya, his wife, is an actor, assistant director and the casting director for Maheshtinte Prathikaram .
His favourite script is Satyan Anthikkad’s Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu .
