A large crowd has gathered to see the shoot and every one’s attention is on the events unfolding on a road near Goshree bridge in Kochi. There is a sense of anticipation and excitement as the hero makes his entry on a motorcycle. In a matter of seconds, he is attacked by actors dressed as goons and, as it often happens in a ‘masala entertainer’, the hero beats the goons to pulp and walks away in style with a smile.
“There’s always an extra glow on my face whenever I am doing an action sequence, which I think is my forte,” says actor Unni Mukundan as he sits on the motorcycle in preparation for the next shot.
The action is happening at the location of director B. Unnikrishnan's I Love Me. The camera has been mounted on a crane and the crew is watching it all from a safe distance.
“ I Love Me is a bubbly, musical love story but its also a thriller, making it a mixture of genres, quite unlike my usual style. As the name suggests, it is about four self-centred individuals. How they transcend that attitude is what the film is about,” says Unnikrishnan.
Prem (Asif Ali) and Savi (Unni Mukundan) are small-time con men in Kochi. They are invited to join a covert operation hatched by Bangkok-based businessman Ram Mohan (Anoop Menon). Once they reach Bangkok, Samantha (Isha Talwar) also joins the group.
“They all get involved in this group for their own personal benefits and, of course, there is some mystery involved. As they interact with each other more and more, and they set out to achieve a common goal, they become close to each other. They soon realise that it is togetherness and sharing that eventually help them find solutions to several issues in their lives,” adds Unnikrishnan.
Sethu has written the screenplay for I Love Me . “I am a scenarist myself but I am open to good scripts by other writers and I found this plot exciting,” explains Unnikrishnan.
Sethu adds: “ I Love Me is about how these youngsters get over a crisis by making the most of Samantha’s looks, Savi’s brawn and Prem’s brain. Initially they are all out for themselves and committed to none. Their ultimate aim was to get rich. I Love Me is their journey from selfish motives to a phase where they they start thinking about others as well – how ‘I love me’ becomes ‘I love you’,” says Sethu.
During lunch break, Unni says: “Although I am a fan of all kinds of movies, I have always been fascinated by action flicks and heroes. I would like to experiment with more challenging roles, I would prefer to play the kind of roles that I am comfortable with.” Unni has just wrapped up Pathiramanal and will soon be doing the sequel to the yesteryear hit, Samrajyam .
I Love Me is being produced under the banner of Vaishaka Cinema. The shooting of the film will be completed in Thailand and Vietnam. Satheesh Kurup is the cinematographer and Deepak Dev is the music director. Stills are by Hasif Hakeem.
