Rahul Ramachandran’s “experiments” in filmmaking began in Class 8 when he shot a short film using a mobile phone. Fast-forward to the present, the 24-year-old is all set to ‘conjure up’ his directorial début with Jeem Boom Bhaa , set to hit the screens in April.
“ Jeem Boom Bhaa is a comedy thriller. The story happens overnight on a New Year and narrates the escapades of a bunch of people whose lives are interlinked. The chain of events spans from around 5 pm till around 3 am the next day,” says Rahul. At the forefront of the plot are three friends — played by Askar Ali, Aneesh Gopal and Linu Shankar — all of whom nurtures dreams of making it big in the film industry one day. “While Aneesh’s character (Kunjumon Chacko) wants to be a cameraman, Askar (Basil Kanjikuzhy) aspires to be a director. Limu, who co-wrote the script with me and Vivek Raj, plays Rohini Karthika who wants to be a tinsel-town hero. Don’t be confused by the name, there’s a clear reason...,” says Rahul, stopping short of revealing those reasons.
Rahul Ramachandran
With a predominantly young cast and crew, Rahul underlines that JBB has “no real heroes or heroines as most of the characters are apportioned equal importance.” Baiju Santhosh, who plays a “clumsy mafia boss” is one among the few “seniors”. Though the time-frame spans less than half a day, Rahul says the film packs in many elements such as suspense, romance and friendship. “There’s a murder investigation, there’s a gangster world... all peppered with humour. At the centre are three misadventures and some eight people involved in them, all eventually hyper-linked,” says the Thiruvananthapuram native.
About the curious title, Jeem Boom Bhaa , a incantation uttered during magic tricks, Rahul says the film is a far cry from a genie-in-a-bottle story. “It’s actually the name of a property in the film that’s of thematic relevance. However, what and why so forms part of the suspense,” he says with a laugh.
A still from Jeem Boom Bhaa
The film’s first-look poster, which depicted a gun-wielding Baiju and Askar and inspired by a scene featuring John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson in the iconic Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction , had generated interest. “To be honest, that was a marketing strategy. But we hit upon the idea by chance, when one of us chanced upon the poster on the Internet during the shoot. However, we couldn’t do a photoshoot and went for a digital painting. The idea clicked,” explains Rahul.
A graduate in hotel management, Rahul’s route to mainstream cinema has been through short films, having done over a dozen so far. “I have not been to any film school neither did I assist in any movies. Jeem Boom Bhaa is actually my third script. I had Askar in mind for my other projects but they didn’t work out. When JBB fell in place, Askar was enthusiastic about the joining as he liked the story,” remembers Rahul. Others in the cast include Kannan Nayar, Anju Kurian and Neha Saxena among others. Anoop V Shylaja has cranked the camera. JBB has two numbers, with Jubair Muhammed scoring the title track and P S Jayahari composing a rap song crooned by rapper Fejo (Febin Joseph).
Calling JBB an “experimental” film, Rahul says it will be “a pure entertainer but with logic”, however, adding as a post-script that “don’t look for motivational content, just sit back and laugh.”
