A beachside romance has rarely failed to create waves in Mollywood. There is something about the sand, the surf and the sea that create the perfect ambience for a romantic rendezvous. So, not surprisingly, for his debut film Mariyam Mukku , scenarist-turned-director James Albert moved to the scenic coastal town of Tangasseri in Kollam to narrate the love story of Felix and Salomi, two youngsters from the fishing community.
Kollam also happens to the writer-director’s home turf. James made his mark in tinsel town as a scenarist with the blockbuster Lal Jose-directed film Classmates , followed by Cycle , Evidam Swargamanu , Venicile Vyaapari , Jawan of Vellimala and Ezhu Sundara Rathrikal.
“The Portuguese made Tangasseri a busy trading centre. Later, it became a bustling centre of Anglo–Indians. Thus, it has a unique culture that is quite unlike any other seaside town in Kerala. It is a mix of Portuguese and Anglo-Indian mores of living. ‘Mariyam Mukku’ is a fictional place in Tangasseri where my story begins. It gets it name from a cross that is believed to have been put up by the Portuguese,” says James, during a break in the post-production work on the film that is set to reach theatres this week.
He points that out in contrast to many beaches with humble dwellings of the fisher folk, Tangasseri is a bustling concrete space that is also the home of many from the fishing community. Fahadh Faasil and newcomer Sana Althaf play the lead in the multi-starrer that features Pratap Pothen, Manoj K. Jayan, Joy Mathew, Sreejith Ravi, Aju Varghese and Neeraj Madhav, among others. “Felix, a fisherman, woos Salomi and since there is a spectrum of emotions to navigate I felt that the role would be safe in Fahadh’s hands. He also speaks in a brogue that is common in that area. In fact, I had an image of each of the characters in this tale that is set on a wide canvas. Each actor was chosen according to the character he/she had to portray. For instance, Joy Mathew earns a living from the sea but he is called ‘sayippu’, a colloquial term for a Caucasian, because his father and grandfather were pucca Anglo-Indians. His character is Salomi’s father,” explains James.
Produced by A.K. Sabeer under Sam Big Movies and distributed by LJ Films, the music has been composed by Lal Jose favourite Vidyasagar. ‘Kavvil’, a rocking number about the origins of Mariyam Mukku, sung by Kavalam Srikumar and Najim Arshad, is already climbing up the charts. K.J. Yesudas and Sujatha have sung a duet in the movie.
Agreeing that occupying the director’s chair is not an easy task, James says that he took it up as a challenge. Initially, he had approached Lal Jose. Lal encouraged him to take up the project as his maiden directorial venture. “I have done it to the best of my ability and now it is up to the audience to judge the results,” he says. Depending on the verdict of the audience, James will decide if he should don the director’s cap or put it aside to return to the writing table.
