Even as the Hindi remake of Mollywood game-changer Traffic gears up for release, director Rajesh Pillai is busy with his next Malayalam film, Mili . An unabashedly heroine-centric film, which marks the debut of editor Mahesh Narayanan as scriptwriter, Mili stars hot and happening Amala Paul in a career-defining role as protagonist Mili, opposite Nivin Pauly. The first schedule of the film is currently being shot in the city, hometown to both Rajesh and Mahesh.
“It’s a motivational film. Mili is an introvert who is down in the dumps. But she finds it in herself to think of her nadir as but a stepping stone to success. She chooses to rise above the challenges and take back the reins of her life. There is a Mili in all of us. Mili , for instance, is my story. I failed class seven. It was one of the lowest points in my life, particularly because I come from a family of academic achievers. Then, my first film [ Hridayathil Sookshikan ] bombed at the box office and everyone wrote me off. But yet I preserved in filmdom, often against all odds and with a lot of support from my friends and family, particularly my father, Raman Pillai, a former head of the department of politics, University of Kerala. Five years later came Traffic and the green light to success!” says Rajesh.
Nivin’s character, Naveen, is a soft skills trainer who becomes a pillar of support for Mili. Tamil actress Kasturi (last seen in Aniyan Bava Chettan Bava in Malayalam) plays the role of Nancy, who is sort of a mentor-cum-sounding board for the youngster as she struggles to get a grip on life.
Apparently the movie was meant to be directed by V.K. Prakash. “Mahesh narrated the story to me just to hear my opinion and I was so enthralled by it that I literally begged him to let me do the film instead. That was my story he was narrating and I am the one with the massive inferiority complex, not VKP who is just the opposite, so cool and collected! I was really like a child crying for its favourite toy until Mahesh acquiesced,” says portly Rajesh, in his typical self-derisive, grainy laugh.
Rajesh sees the movie as a team effort – just like Traffic was.
“ Traffic happened thanks to my friends such as scriptwriters Sanjay and Bobby, Mahesh, producer Listin Stephen, and a few others who have always stood by me through thick and thin. Similarly, Mili and the Hindi Traffic too, I couldn’t have made without my friends in the industry,” says Rajesh.
The Hindi version of the blockbuster Traffic , which is set to release in August stars Manoj Bajpai (“a gem of an actor and human being”) in the lead, besides Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, Divya Dutta, Jimmy Shergill and Kahani -star Parambrata Chatterjee. Kahani ’s Suresh Nair has adapted the screenplay into Hindi, Santosh Thundiyil has wielded the camera and Mithoon (of Aashiqui 2 fame) has composed the music. “In fact, eighty per cent of the crew of Traffic are Malayalis who work in Bollywood! Traffic in Hindi will be slightly different from the one in Malayalam. For example, in this version, the rain, which was just mentioned in passing in Malayalam, becomes an important character, one that waxes and wanes with the emotions of love, sorrow, fear, and the likes.”
So are we looking at another game-changer? “Well, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I have done the film from my heart and therein lies its virtue,” says the director.
Meanwhile, Rajesh’s big budget Motorcycle Diaries , starring Kunchacko Boban and Nivin Pauly in the lead, has been put on hold till next year.
“ Motorcycle Diaries traces the story of a Bullet, over four decades, from the 1980s to 2012. It passes through the hands of four owners and journeys from Leh-Ladakh to Kerala, and in the process, discovers the real India too. It is my dream project,” says Rajesh.
