“I want to keep experimenting with genres,” says Ajayan Venugopalan. Indeed. Ever since he took baby steps into the entertainment industry, the young scriptwriter has been experimenting with different facets of expatriate life [a subject that he calls his “USP”] under various genres. If popular YouTube sitcom Akkarakazchakal had audiences laughing out loud at the antics of Malayalis expats in the United States (U.S.), Ajayan’s debut film, English , was a stark drama on emigrant life in London. Meanwhile, Mohanlal-starrer Peruchazhi , about three bumbling Malayalis taking on the state of California, was an attempt at slapstick comedy. With Ivide , his third film, set to be released next week, Ajayan tries his hand at crafting a crime thriller.
Directed by Shyamaprasad, Ivide stars Prithviraj, Nivin Pauly and Bhavana in the lead roles. “Actually, the genre is crime drama. It’s a Shyamprasad film – so it has to be about relationships, the deep interplay of which unspools as the film progresses. There is also a thriller element to it given that there is a serial killer on the loose, with tough cop Varun Blake (Prithviraj) leading the investigation,” says Ajayan.
Set in Atlanta in the U.S., the film tells the story of Varun, a Malayali who was adopted as a child by an American couple, Roshni (Bhavana), a techie, divorcee and single parent and Krish Hebbar (Nivin), also a techie, the CEO of a tech company. It’s a milieu that’s wholly familiar to Ajayan as he himself is a techie (from Palakkad) and an expatriate, who has been living and working in New Jersey for the past decade or so. “People in Kerala tend to look at emigrant life through rose-tinted glasses and as an aspirational way of life. As someone who has seen first-hand its ins and outs, reality couldn’t be more different. My stories are an honest take on life as an emigrant, in this case life in the IT industry. I want to show audiences the other side of life abroad, the one that’s not always poetic, successful, colourful, or positive as portrayed in popular media. Ivide is a story along those lines, where life is mired in racial tension, isolation, suspicion, mistrust...,” explains Ajayan.
Atlanta was chosen for that very reason too. “It’s a much smaller and much less cosmopolitan a city when compared to a New York or a Chicago. Ivide is a kind of story that will only work in a small city where race relations are more defined and outsourcing of jobs often has an immediate and devastating impact on local communities. For example, to put it in perspective, what would happen if FACT suddenly decided to shift its base from Aluva?” says Ajayan, as he gushes about shooting in Atlanta in autumn last year. “Everyone’s done such a good job. Prithviraj has outdone himself as a Malayali who doesn’t know Malayalam; Nivin has handled his character's grey shades pretty well. Bhavana was the revelation, acing in the role of a strong-willed young mother, a character that we’ve never seen from the bubbly actor....,” he adds.
This is the second time that Ajayan is working with Shyamaprasad, after English . “ Ivide has been in the works between us for two years now. Together we have been on a rollercoaster ride trying to get the film on the floors. We’ve come to have a brotherly affection for each other, which is think is a good – and essential – thing between a director and a scriptwriter.”
