A van that looks older than the 50-year-old men sitting inside it comes to a halt at a petrol bunk. Even as they wait for the tank to be filled, the four of them spot someone outside and all turn their focus in that direction. It is the location of director Aashiq Abu’s Idukki Gold , at Vyttila in Kochi.
“It is about five friends who studied together in class 10 at a school in Idukki in 1978. They went their separate ways after school and have not met each other since.Now one of them, an NRI settled in Czechoslovakia, has returned and placed an advertisement in the newspaper in a bid to locate his old friends. The ad works and they meet up and decide to go for a trip to their alma mater in Idukki. The individual lives of each of the characters will be shown as various chapters in the film,” says Aashiq Abu.
The storyline for the film has been taken from Santhosh Echikkanam’s story of the same title.
The scene features Michael (Pratap Pothen), Madan (Maniyanpillai Raju), Antony (Babu Antony) and Ravi (Ravindran) during their trip to Idukki. They spot Raman (Vijayaraghavan), near the petrol bunk. Lal plays an important character in the movie, but the director refuses to reveal any details. Joy Mathew, Sajitha Madathil and Praseeda also play key roles in the movie.
The five main actors talk shop in a caravan parked nearby, while the crew prepares for the next shot. “We are enjoying every moment of the shoot. The camaraderie that we share has helped us get into the skin of our characters with remarkable ease,” they say.
They feel that the “pattern of films has changed considerably over the years and it is heartening to work with these youngsters, who are full of energy and are not egoistic. During recent years, good stories are being accepted by viewers regardless of the star cast, which is a fantastic development.”
Pratap Pothen feels that this movie can be called a movie about friendship and growing up. He plays Michael, who is on a nostalgic trail.
“Madan is a planter based in Thrissur and we are going on this trip in his farmhouse van,” says Maniyanpillai Raju.
Antony is married to a French woman and the duo run a restaurant in Fort Kochi. He is ambitious and is fascinated by martial arts. Ravindran’s character is a bachelor who runs a photo studio in Thrissur.
“He is not really successful as he is too conventional and is not ready to accept the emergence of digital technology in photography,” Ravindran says.
The friends meet Raman, a government employee and an activist, on their way to Idukki. Following the demise of his wife, Raman had remarried and was now living with his son.
Idukki Gold is being produced by M. Renjith, under the banner of Rejaputhra Visual Media. Cinematographer is Shyju Khalid. Still photographer is Bijith.
