A man with a flaming torch stands facing an old mansion at some distance; above that, a mountain of human bodies fighting to get on top of each other rises into the eerily-lit night sky. That is the haunting black-and-white charcoal-style artwork in the title poster of Rahul Sadasivan’s Mammootty-starrer Bramayugam.
Arun Ajikumar, the creative head of Aesthetic Kunjamma. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
“That was the result of several discussions and brainstorming sessions that began a year-and-a-half before that first poster was put out in August 2023,” says Arun Ajikumar, creative head of Aesthetic Kunjamma, the design firm behind the trend-setting posters of the widely-appreciated horror movie that is running in theatres.
Rahul Sadasivan, director of Bramayugam. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Rahul had told Arun about Bramayugam right after his previous film Bhoothakaalam (2022). “Although we had also done the posters of Bhoothakaalam, we were a bit overwhelmed as it felt like such a huge project. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun with it, and it is a pleasure working with Rahul as he gives you a lot of freedom to improvise despite having great clarity on what he wants,” says Arun.
First look
Arun and his team first did a pitch deck for Rahul. Once that was cleared, they began working on the concept for the title poster. The challenge was to create a 3D effect and a visual illusion of the night-time setting seen in the poster. Arun adds, “If you look carefully, you can also find the vague shape of a skull above the mana (mansion).”
For Rahul, the posters were crucial to building expectations for this project, which many see as a remarkable experiment in Malayalam cinema. “Through the posters, I wanted to introduce the world I was building to the audience. You can see various aspects of Bramayugam in all the posters, especially in those that were released just days before the film reached cinemas. Once we have built the excitement, then it is my job as a filmmaker to meet the expectations of the moviegoers,” explains Rahul.
The title poster did exactly what Rahul wanted from it as it provided a magnificent glimpse into the world of Bramayugam. “In a way, you can see the entire theme and story of the movie in that poster,” says Arun.
Working with Mammootty
This is also the second Mammootty movie that Aesthetic Kunjamma is working on. It is a dream come true for the team that began in 2020 as an Instagram page that posted fan-made posters designed with a retro-vibe.
The design team arranged a special shoot to click Mammootty’s photographs for the posters of Bramayugam | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Arun is all praise for the actor. “Although he seems like someone we cannot just barge in and speak freely to, he is, in fact, extremely cooperative. He loves working with youngsters and was really enthusiastic about the poster shoot,” he says.
The first look shot of Mammootty as Kudamon Potty was done in medium format, usually used for high-end advertisement and fashion shoots. “I wanted to make it look as good as possible with great contrast. So, we brought a photographer from Bengaluru for this and did some test shots. Once he liked those, we went ahead with the shoot,” says Arun
Mammootty in a poster of Bramayugam | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Initially, Arun had planned to make Mammootty sit on the antique chair, seen in the poster, and lean back with a serious expression. “However, he improvised and gave us different versions of that wicked grin seen in the poster. He gave a lot of inputs and was happy to keep on trying until we got what wanted,” he adds.
Importance of poster design
Bramayugam’s minimalist posters have garnered huge praise from the audience and managed to create excitement in the months before its release. Arun believes moviegoers are observing posters carefully nowadays due to social media and their exposure to works from around the world. “They are comparing our designs to those with international projects. This has created an expectation for more refined works. It is exciting to be able to meet those expectations,” he says.
