Ranjith Shankar’s blog offers insight into his thoughts; some in retrospect, after a film’s release, or introspective as he moves into filming a new one. He chronicles aspects of his state of mind or what led to a particular film; a lay person gets that rare, candid peek into the director’s psyche. Writing, after all, can be intimate. He wrote one such blog, before the filming for his latest, Pretham , started. He says: “I played around with Pretham idea for the past couple of years and I think the only reason I am attempting it now is that every time I set it aside, it kept coming back. That’s a very positive sign for a film script.” He also says that this was probably the “8th or 9th in the genre” that he wrote.
Why not before or, rather, why now? “It is a risky genre of films to make in Malayalam. The margin of error is very less for a horror film. It is easier for a serious film; it is like this for a comedy also. Many elements can go wrong. This script has, naturally, an element of comedy throughout and that gave me the confidence to attempt it.”
Also, Ranjith wanted to present audiences with a new kind of film, set to a new theme.
Malayalam cinema has had horror films before, most along the ‘yakshi’ template (with exceptions). Pretham has a contemporary, now vibe.
This, however, is not his first brush with writing a horror story; he wrote the script for, what was probably Malayalam television’s first horror ‘serial’, the popular ‘Nizhalukal’ which was aired on Asianet in the early 2000s. Times and attitudes of the audience have changed since; more are now open to new things, new styles are more acceptable, he avers. “That is why I have written a script that is very different from the year 2000.”
His last outing at the box office was the immensely successful Su.. Su.. Sudhi Vathmeekam , starring Jayasurya, who is a lucky mascot of sorts for the director. Punyalan Agarbathis before that (not in chronological order), with the actor, also did well.
The actor has co-produced the film as well, of collaborating again with the staple, “With him, this is our third film together, there is a level of comfort and understanding which is bound to be there,” Ranjith says. Jayasurya, in an quirky, bald avatar appears as a mentalist in the film.
As director, Ranjith has pushed the envelope with each film, from Passenger to Su.. Su.. Sudhi… , each a fresh premise sans claims of ‘difference’.
Some clicked, some didn’t. A youth film is untested waters for him. And that has led him, this time round, to work with a relatively young cast that comprises Govind Padmasoorya, Aju Varghese, Pearle Maaney and Sharafudheen.
The film, he says, is for a younger audience demographic – the teenagers, the 15 to 18 year olds. “Like I said, I haven’t made a youth film.” That said it is a film that everybody will enjoy. About how the film would be received he says he has a gut feeling, like he did during Su.. Su.. Sudhi…
A line from the film goes, “If you believe in God, then you should believe in this!” The inevitable question is, “Is there a ‘pretham’ (ghost) in the film? “Of course there is a supernatural element. That is why it’s called Pretham,” Ranjith says.
Music for the film is by Anand Madhoosoodhanan. The cinematographer is Jithu Damodar. The film reaches theatres today.
