“I take up roles only when friends insist, or if there is no other go, like my role in Thirakkatha . There were no actors available for that character at the time and so I stepped in. Acting has never been my comfort zone. I am the kind of person who is never satisfied with my performance; I keep finding flaws and feel I could have done a scene better,” says director Ranjith, who first entered Mollywood with a role in the Sibi Malayil film, Ezhuthappurangal in 1987 , before moving on to scriptwriting and direction. The filmmaker, who has donned the greasepaint for a few recent films, the last as Usman in AnnayumRasoolum , is playing Aloshy, a mechanic who runs a garage in Anjali Menon’s soon to be released film, Koode .
Aloshy is married to Lily, played by Mala Parvathi. Prithviraj and Nazriya Nazim play their children, Joshua and Jenny. “Aloshy has been through a lot in life but is the kind of person who bears his grief and suffering stoically. As he hasn’t seen his son in 15 years, there is a gulf between them. I feel, after Joshua and Jenny, Aloshy and Lily are important characters in the film. I took up the role of Aloshy because of Anjali’s confidence in me and felt relieved when Anjali told me I have done a good job after watching the rushes.”
Ranjith who is known for his temper on the sets, says Anjali was patient and soft spoken during the shoot of Koode . “I should probably take a leaf from her book; she handled me with care. My temperament goes haywire when I am directing. I am the kind of director who blasts my actors if they fail to perform their best, but am ecstatic when they do a fine job,” he laughs.
An alumnus of School of Drama, Thrissur, Ranjith joined the School as he could not imagine attending a graduation course after his class 12. “The thought of attending classes, studying, preparing for exams... for three years was off-putting. So, when I heard of the School of Drama, I decided to enrol and I am glad I did.”
Mad over cinema
While he was interested in movies, he was not “mad about them” as his friend Alex Kadavil was. Alex, he says, was the person who pushed him and got him his break in Mollywood. As for scriptwriting, it happened one “leisurely evening” when he was with a group of his friends.
The inspiration for his tales, he says, is derived from everything and anything around him. “It could be a piece of news I heard, a character in a book, a person I met, an incident that occurred… Sometimes an idea just pops in your head.”
As for direction, it happened as he was bored of doing the same thing. “So you see nothing in my life is planned.”
The man who believes in going with the flow is just back from a 45-day shoot in London for his upcoming film Drama starring Mohanlal and Arundathi Nag. The film, scripted by him, also has fellow directors Dileesh Pothen, Shyama Prasad and Johny Antony in pivotal roles. Ranjith was shooting for another script, Bilathikatha, when he felt “something wasn’t right” with the script and paused the shoot.
Family entertainer
It was while relaxing at his “creative space” at Wayanad that the seed for Drama sprouted in his mind. “A thought popped in my head and after a lot of contemplation, I felt it could be turned into a film.” A family entertainer, Drama , is laced with humour and emotions and is based on an incident that unfolds in London, “and that is all I can say. I am hoping to release the film in time for Onam.”
Koode will hit theatres on July 6.
