Letters from a father
SARASWATHY NAGARAJAN
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‘Pathaam Nilayele Theevandi,’ helmed by three senior directors, starring Innocent and Jayasurya, is about the relationship between a schizophrenic patient and his son.
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Derailed thoughts: ‘ Pathaam Nilayele Theevandi’ has Innocent playing the lead of a schizophrenic.
It is a tense scene that is being filmed in a room on the premises of the Mental Hospital at Oolampara, Thiruvananthapuram. A schizophrenic patient is being administered electric shock under the watchful eyes of doctors and nurses. While the scene is being canned, veteran director and script writer Dennis Joseph fills in the details of the project that has three senior film directors, Joshy Mathew, Jose Thomas and Dennis himself, working together on a film.
Based on a short story
“‘Pathaam Nilayele Theevandi,’ the film that is being shot, is based on a short story that I wrote in Kala Kaumudi. Strangely enough, although I have written the scripts of 40 films and directed five films, I had never written a short story till then. This story of the relationship between a schizophrenic patient and his son was my first one. And it elicited a huge response from readers. Later, I published a collection of my short stories (‘Banjara’) too,” explains Dennis.
In the meantime, shot over, Jose joins Dennis. As soon as Jayasurya steps out, staff members in the hospital surround him for autographs. Patiently he signs their books and on pieces of papers as cameras click non-stop.
While Jayasurya was making his fans happy, Jose took a break to talk about his role in the film. He says: “As soon as I read the story, I saw the possibility of a film in it and persuaded Dennis to turn it into a screenplay. However, when Joshy expressed his desire to make it into a film, I decided to become the producer of the film.”
Joshy, a veteran of the Padmarajan school of filmmaking, is back in filmdom after 13 years. He also emphasises that it was the story that tugged at his heartstrings and made him think of making a film. ‘Pathaam Nilayele Theevandi’ narrates the story of Shankaranarayanan, a railway gang man (played by Innocent) who is hospitalised when he becomes schizophrenic. Shankaranarayanan waits in vain for his son’s visit or letters.
Of human bondage
“The story unfolds through the letters written by the father to the son (Jayasurya) over a 15-year period. The film examines various kinds of human bonds – the father-son bond and why the son never turns up to meet his father; the bond between patient and doctor; the bond between man and society and so on…” says Joshy.
He points out that it is a realistic story. Media often carry reports on the plight of patients who are abandoned by their families for various reasons. “I wanted to go beyond those reports and examine what makes the patient’s family abandon him. I make no statements. I decided to make the film when Jose agreed to become the producer because I know he is not the kind of producer who will interfere with the script or in the director’s work,” says Joshy.
Joshy has cast Innocent and Jayasurya as the father and the son.
Jayasurya thanks his reading habit for this role. “As soon as I heard that the story was being made into a film, I called up Dennis ichayan and expressed my interest in working in the film,” says Jayasurya who has proved his versatility as an actor. After successfully breaking the mould of the comedian through his roles in ‘Kangaroo’ and ‘Classmates,’ Jayasurya looks comfortable about his space in tinsel town. He points out that he has played Innocent’s son in films like ‘Bus Conductor’ and ‘Greetings.’
Innocent chips in: “It is rare to come across the kind of roles both of us are doing in this film. I was a little taken aback when I was approached to do this character. Usually, such roles are earmarked for actors like Nedumudi Venu, Murali and so on. It is even rarer to be given a script to read and decide,” says Innocent. Dressed in a kurta and dhoti, Innocent had even changed his hair style (went for a close crew cut) for this role.
“Shankaranarayanan does alter your perception of life. Even the hospital premises here is somehow different; you start thinking on metaphysical lines and philosophy and so on… I have ensured that none of my usual mannerisms and style of dialogue delivery make their presence felt in Shankaran,” explains Innocent who, once the shot is over, can’t maintain a serious mien.
Joshy is all praise for Innocent. “He is one of our finest actors and it is a pity that such actors are getting typecast in certain roles. I was sure that he would come up with a superlative performance.”
Vijayaraghavan, Anoop Menon and Meera Nandan play important characters in the film. Joshy’s son Sudip Joshy is co-director of the film. Vinu Thomas and Mattannur Sankarankutty score the music. Still photographer is Mona Lisa Chandran.
Cinematographer Vinod Illampalli gets ready for the next shot that shows Innocent hallucinating that his son has come to visit him. Once the cinematographer has the camera rolling, it is back to action, again.
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