Johny Antony sounds confident as he speaks over telephone from Chennai about his new film, Thoppil Joppan , which reaches cinemas today. “Joppan is the lovable man you would find in every locality,” says Johny, during a short break he takes from the post production works. It is Johny’s fourth film with Mammootty who plays Joppan.
“Only Mammootty could have done the role of Joppan. Of the three films we did together, Thuruppu Gulan and Thappana were hits. The fourth one, Pattanathil Bhootham , wasn’t, but when it was screened on television, it proved pretty popular. It has been four years since Thappana was released and it felt really nice to direct Mammootty once again,” he says. Joppan, according to the director, has made his money by working outside Kerala. “He has had a broken love affair. Though he is no Devdas, he does find some solace in alcohol. But he is not an alcoholic. He is the captain of the local kabaddi team,” the director elaborates.
The action in Thoppil Joppan takes place in a village in Idukki. “But the culture is heavily influenced by Kottayam. The two female leads are played by Mamta Mohandas and Andrea Jeremiah. While Mamta is a young doctor, Andrea is the daughter of the manager of a plantation,” says Johny.
Kaviyoor Ponnamma is cast as Mammootty’s mother. “I think it is after quite a while that she is playing a prominent role. Salim Kumar and Harisree Ashokan also play important roles. Ranji Panicker, Alancier, Sreejith Ravi and Pashanam Shaji are also in the cast,” he says.The songs are composed by Vidyasagar. “Of the 10 films I have done, the music of five was done by Vidyasagar. The songs, though they have only been released on YouTube, have already become popular,” he says. Thoppil Joppan , he promises, is a light-hearted movie. “The humour is subtle, and not vulgar at all. It is the kind of film you can watch with your entire family,” he says.
