As Jis Joy’s third directorial outing, Vijay Superum Pournamiyum , hits the screens on Friday, he’s riding high on confidence. The positive reception of his previous venture, Sunday Holiday , has given him “valuable insights” into what clicks for him as a filmmaker. “I was much more relaxed during the shoot of Vijay Superum Pournamiyum than my other two films. Sunday Holiday helped me realise that light, slice-of-life movies with a dash of subtle humour are my cup of tea,” says Jis over phone from Kochi.
Starring Asif Ali as Vijay Super and Aishwarya Lekshmi as Pournami in the titular roles, Jis says Vijay is “a feel-good comedy peppered with a pinch of romance.” Describing the romance as “realistic, mature love”, the 38-year-old says Vijay, in stark contrast to his name, is someone “who’s a far cry from actually being ‘super’ while Pournami, like her name, is a charming, vivacious girl.” The story revolves around how their lives are mutually influenced when the two contrasting personalities come together.
The director says the title, which generated much curiosity, holds significance. “The rest of the characters good-humouredly refer to Vijay as being ‘super’ to pull his leg. More than that, the old Lambretta model Vijay Super is a key visual leitmotif in the film. It, in fact, comes in almost all the frames,” says Jis with a laugh.
The film also attempts to discuss matters of contemporary relevance. “On another level, through the character of Pournami, the movie tries to explore how girls can open up to their parents about certain sensitive matters in a changing society. But we are not preaching and therefore it’s not conveyed as an obvious message but unravelled through an evocative story,” explains Jis, who loves the comedies of Siddique-Lal screenwriter-director duo.
Jis seems to have struck a natural rapport with Asif, making the actor his lead in all his three films so far. But the director insists he has never penned his movies keeping Asif in mind and that he’s not concerned about being typecast. “Though we knew each other before, we became close friends during the shooting of Bicycle Thieves (directorial début). I’m not really after star value in my casting as I prefer to put the emphasis on content. I’ve always believed that a film will be successful if there’s solid content to back it,” he says.
Jis Joy
Apart from scripting the film himself, Jis penned the lines for the four songs in Vijay . He says he enjoys writing lyrics as much as developing screenplays, having written songs in his previous movies as well. “To tell you the truth, I dreamt of becoming a lyricist during my college days even before I fancied direction,” says Jis, adding that he “prefers to compose simple verses that are straight-to-the-heart.” His lines are set to tune by débutant music director Prince George.
Others in the line-up include Aju varghese, Balu Varghese, Siddique, Renji Panicker, Shanthi Krishna, KPAC Lalitha, Devan, with popular RJ Joseph Annamkutty Jose marking his acting début. Set in an “unnamed metro city”, Vijay is shot mainly in Kannur, outskirts of Kochi, Cherthala, Alappuzha and other parts of Kerala.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Jis says he’s simultaneously fleshing out a project that will see Kunchacko Boban in the lead. “I’m writing the yet-untitled film based on a story by scriptwriter-duo Bobby-Sanjay,” he says, willing to divulge only that it will be again a “comedy, family film, this time with a motivational content.” For now, it’s about catching up with Vijay cruising on his Vijay Super.
