This is not about the Seven Year Itch , but about a seven-day itch, and that too prior to a wedding. Lal Jose, on the cusp of a hat trick in the fag end of 2013, has made a film that is themed on a pre-marriage hiccup that occurs after a bachelor’s party a week before the big event. What follows is the story of Lal’s Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal (ESR), scripted by James Albert of Classmates fame.
The film releases today and the director is confident that the Dileep-starrer will woo the box office just like his two previous films this year – Emmanuel and Pullippulikalum Aattinkuttiyum . Lal has picked up slices of life to give shape to his new film, which, he calls a “romantic thriller”.
“For instance, Aby, Dileep’s character, who also moonlights as a wedding photographer, begins working as an assistant with Kamal before evolving into an ad filmmaker. As you know, both Dileep and I began our career in films as assistants of film director Kamal,” says Lal. The director is all laughs when he is talking about it on the phone.
This movie is “completely different from the other films I have made,” says Lal. The director is trying to break the mould to infuse new life into his craft of filmmaking and has no hassles in admitting the same. Incidentally, this is his seventh film with Dileep.
“Dileep and I are two people whose ideas of films and filmmaking do not match at all. But when we work together such differences make way for a creative synergy that works well for the movie,” says Lal.
Murali Gopy plays a boxer Tyson Alex while Rima Kallingal and Parvathy Nambiar [who is making her debut as an actress] are the female leads. Murali and Lal are working together nine years after Rasikan , in which Murali made his debut as an actor, singer and scriptwriter. “Murali is one of the most talented guys I have seen in my career and I was filled with regret that I could not do justice to his Rasikan . It is wonderful to see him carve a niche for himself in cinema,” says Lal. Although the director wanted to cast him in Emmanuel , Murali did not have dates for the film. But ESR has Murali teaming up with Lal and Dileep again.
Rima is another Lal Jose find who is working again in his film after Neelathamara . She began her career in films when she was cast in a Tamil film that Lal was making but the shooting came to a stop after two weeks and she was chosen by Shyamaprasad for his Ritu .
While the film is a reunion of sorts with actors who have worked with Lal, this time around Lal has decided to tune in with Prashant Pillai instead of his favourite music composer Vidyasagar. “I just fell in love with Prashant’s ‘Ee Solamanum, Shoshannayum… ’ from Amen . Since the film itself has a new style, I thought I would also go in for a new music director and he has delivered what I wanted,” says Lal.
Now, that the New Year is knocking at the doors, Lal is getting set to rework his craft and style of filmmaking. Come 2014, Lal is all set for a film with Dulquer Salmaan and Unni Mukundan in March.
