“One of the most beautiful relationships in this world is that between a father and daughter. Our story is about one such delicate and gorgeous relationship, which is both sweet and sour,” says Revathy S. Varmha, writer and director of Maad Dad , the shooting of which is on in Kochi.
The location for the day is a huge bungalow near Vaikom and the shot to be taken has an aerial view of the front with a couple of people standing at the entrance. Lal, Lalu Alex and Sreejith Vijay are preparing for the shot.
“Palachottil Kuriyakose Easo (Lal) is the proud father of Mariya (Nazriya). He is protective about her, knows what is best for her and never lets his affection become an obstacle in her personal or professional life. Their life is simple and smooth until Mariya discovers a secret about her father,” says Revathy, a well-known ad filmmaker and director of Tamil film June R . She has also directed two Telugu films, one Sri Lankan film and has just completed shooting her first Hindi film, Aap Ke Liye Hum , with Jaya Bachchan as the central character.
Irreparable loss
“Mariya feels helpless when a doctor tells her that her father is suffering from Psycho Psychosis and had gone into depression when her mother died. He sought to cope with his loss by creating an imaginary world with his wife,” narrates the director.
Sreejith Vijay, getting ready for a close-up shot next, is clad in a traditional jooba and mundu. He plays Bony, the son of Soda Mathan (Lalu Alex).
“He has studied psychiatry in London. Mariya was his classmate there and the two are in love,” says Sreejith, who shot to fame with his role in Rathinirvedam .
Sreejith is currently on a high on account of his role in the Telugu film Baba Sathya Sai , directed by Kodi Ramakrishna, based on the life of the spiritual guru. “I feel it is just magical to have been chosen to be a part of the film, playing the younger days of Sathya Sai Baba. We have completed shooting some portions featuring my scenes; it was a tremendous experience,” he says.
Says Nazriya, an anchor who is making her debut in Maad Dad as an actor: “This story is the journey of a dad who is pretty weird in his ways, and his daughter, who supports him totally. On a personal note, I could relate to the character very well, as I am really close to my dad. Lal uncle, who plays my father on screen, made me really comfortable during the shooting.”
She says that though her experience as an anchor helped her in facing the camera, “it is totally a different experience in movies, where you are playing a character quite unlike you.”
Maad Dad is being produced by PNV Associates. Cinematographer is Pradeep Nair and music director is Alex Paul. Stills are by Shibu P. Chandran.
