K B Maju hopes to brew an entertainer with ‘French Viplavam’

The 35-year-old’s directorial début, which releases on Friday, is a tongue-in-cheek take on 1996 arrack ban in Kerala

October 24, 2018 01:31 pm | Updated 01:31 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

A still from French Viplavam

A still from French Viplavam

At the outset itself, K B Maju confesses with a giggle that he doesn’t really intend to trigger any cinematic revolution. This may be in stark contrast to the title of his début movie, French Viplavam , a period comedy set to hit the screens on Friday. Set against the backdrop of the 1996 arrack ban in Kerala, French Viplavam transports us to the fictional village of Kochukadavu to offer a tongue-in-cheek sneak-peek into the “collective hangover” of such a sweeping policy decision gripping a bunch of tipplers.

“Kochukadavu, in effect, serves as a microcosm for Kerala at the time. French Viplavam shows how the common people of the village come to grips with the aftermath of the ban on country liquor and its unintended social impacts,” says Maju over phone from his hometown in Ernakulam.

Though watching movies had always been “a passion”, never did he fancy making one in his youth. He moved to Qatar where he worked for over 10 years with a travel consultancy, but never losing sight of Mollywood releases. Developing a fascination for the filmmaking style of Lijo Jose Pelliserry, Maju one day went and met the ace director, with whom he now shares a “brotherly bond.”

K B Maju

K B Maju

“I was in Kerala on leave once when the shooting of his Ee. Ma. Yau. was going on in Chellanam, Kochi. He invited me over to watch and learn and I spent some 10 days in the set,” Probably, that’s all the professional-level experience I could gain before French Viplavam ,” the 35-year-old says. Maju later did a nine-minute short film, Kaaliya , to gain first-hand knowledge about direction. “The entire short was done in a single shot and it received much appreciation. That gave me the confidence to helm a project myself,” recounts Maju, who enjoys the movies of Dileesh Pothan and Quentin Tarantino.

Maju says, in French Viplavam, he felt the most effectual way to bring out the “real-life ironies” uncorked by such a policy move was through humour. He also took liberty in “spiking” the story with elements of romance. The trailer promises as much, providing a glimpse into the general pandemonium set off by the arrack ban in provincial Kochukadavu. Maju says the relevance of the title is a “suspense”, but assures me with a chuckle that it will be far from gory.

A still from French Viplavam

A still from French Viplavam

Lal plays Sisupalan, the lead guzzler of the village who is forced to change his tack with the ban now in effect, while Sunny Wayne is Sathyan, a chef head-over-heels in love with an arrack outlet owner’s daughter played by Arya Salim of Ee. Ma. Yau. fame. Others in the line-up include Chemban Vinod Jose as Chathootty, Unnimaya Prasad, Noby Marcose, Aristo Suresh, Sasi Kalinga, Pauly Valsan and Navas Vallikkunnu (from Sudani from Nigeria ).

French Viplavam is scripted by Anwar Ali, Shajeer Jaleel, Shajeer Sha, with Pappinu cranking the camera. Maju himself co-wrote the dialogues with R Jayakumar. Shot mainly in Manjali, Puthenvelikkara and Aluva with “a predominant visual backdrop of water bodies”, Maju says he made ample use of existing old buildings and settlements at the locations and did not have to go out of his way for set design to bring a 1996 rustic Kerala back to screens.

So, fingers’ crossed as the stage is set for the local revolution of Kochukadavu.

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