As the sun begins to set, unit members of director Sunil Karyattukara’s Pakida work hard to complete the shot before darkness falls. The scene of action for the day is a corner of a vast ground near HMT Junction at Kalamassery, Kochi, where some huge trucks have been parked.
The camera has been mounted inside an old Contessa car and when the crew is ready, actor Biju Menon gets in the driver’s seat. The car then heads to the Seaport – Airport road to capture some of the reactions of the actor.
Pakida narrates the events that happen during the course of a journey. “Five friends, played by Asif Ali, Aju Varghese, Vishnu Raghav, Sajid and Anjo, come together for a booze party. An unprecedented incident happens and the quintet find themselves in need of some money. They try to sell their bikes as a stop-gap measure but cannot find any buyers. Then appears George Koshy Anthrapper (Biju Menon), who agrees to buy their old car, but on one condition – they would have to accompany him on a journey from Kochi to Madurai. Why they embark on this trip and what happens to them during this journey is what the story is all about,” says Sunil Karyattukara, director of Chacko Randaman .
With a thick beard, cropped hair and a denim jacket, Biju Menon looks fetching but rather grim. “My character has an aura of mystery around him and what he aims at attaining during the course of the trip is part of the suspense. This can be called a road movie and it has been fun working with this group of youngsters,” says Biju, who has completed his scenes for the day.
Asif Ali has to get into the car next. “I am Aadi in this film. Aadi’s parents want him to find a job, instead of being a wastrel and hanging out with his friends all the time. What he does is end up in a soup!” says Asif.
Before shifting to Kochi, the crew had shot at various locations in Tamil Nadu.
Asif says that it was a strenuous shoot. “All throughout we were shooting under the scorching sun, even as it was raining heavily in Kerala. It has been a fun ride and it was great working with some Tamil artistes there,” he says.
Malavika and Apoorva Bose play the female leads. P. Balachandran, Shine Tom Chacko, Ambika Mohan and Renji Panicker are part of the cast.
Pakida is being produced under the banner of Sagar Cinema. Cinematography is by Sameer Haq and music director is Bijibal. Stills are by Anish Aloysius.
