If trailers are a hint on how a film will be, then Marubhoomiyile Aana is a movie that will be full of laughs. Biju Menon dressed in a Sheikh’s attire is in his element and has stolen the show in the teaser scenes. The film’s director V.K. Prakash (VKP), smiles and says: “Yes, Marubhoomiyile Aana is an out and out comedy with a touch of suspense.”
Although Biju, who plays a sheikh in the film, dominates the screen, he is not the sole protagonist. Krishna Sanker (of Premam fame) has an important role too. “The movie is about a man and his struggle. Krishna plays a youngster who brings the Arab to Kerala. The title of the film is in connection with Biju’s role in the movie. As sheikhs are a rare sight in villages, he is greeted and treated with awe.”
Biju looks different in his new attire. “I had Biju in mind as soon as I heard the script. Only Biju can carry off the role. His recent characters in movies such as Romans , Bhaiyya Bhaiyya and Vellimoonga prove he can handle comedy with élan.”
The makers of the film were in the news during the shoot of the film as a video of a tiger roaming on the Doha express highway went viral on social media. “It is common in Arab nations to have tigers as pets. The movie has a sequence that has Biju stepping out of a car with a tiger. A mishap occurred when a tiger was being transported for the shoot. The tiger escaped from its cage at a traffic signal. The video of the tiger on the loose went viral. We had to pay a fine. But then such incidents are a part of filmmaking. Rarely does a film shoot go off smoothly till the end. There are bound to be bumps.”
The two songs in Marubhoomiyile Aana seem to be doing well on music charts. But then most of VKP’s films have good music. “I come from a generation that grew up on Akashavani. Music is important to us. Although I haven’t been trained in music, I appreciate good music. The music in my films go through a lot of reworking until my gut feeling tell me it’s right. For Marubhoomiyile Aana , we had a visual storyboard for Ratheesh Vega so he could provide tunes that would fit the scenes.” When once a Mollywood film would feature at least four to five songs, now many filmmakers are limiting the number of songs. Is this the latest trend? “No. I think it is because of the new kind of storylines that do not require songs to act as fillers, to narrate a situation, emotion...”
VKP may be basking in his second National award last year for the film Nirnayakam but he is keeping his fingers crossed for Marubhoomiyile Aana scoring at the box office. His last outing in Mollywood, Rockstar , was a damp squib at the box office. “There is no proven formula for a box office hit. Making a film is a gamble. As long as you are passionate about your work, it should not matter if the film is a success or not.”
So, does winning a National award make him conscious while shooting Marubhoomiyile Aana ? Does he feel the need to live up to the award? Laughing, he says: “Why should I? I love experimenting with genres and with languages. I try to be different in each of my films. Marubhoomiyile Aana is different from Nirnayakam and Rockstar . Nirnayakam was a film with a social message, while Rockstar was a musical love story. Marubhoomiyile Aana is an entertainer.”
So, what’s next in his kitty? “Nothing. I intend to take a break after the release of this film and catch up on some much-needed sleep.”
MarubhoomiyileAana will hit theatres today. The cast includes Samskriti Shenoy, Lalu Alex, Pashanam Shaji and Soubin Shahir, to name a few. Cinematography is by Ajay David Kachappilly. David Kachappilly is the producer.
