Prasobh Vijayan confidently says he’s a “99.9% self-taught” filmmaker. “I have never been to a film school, neither have I really ‘assisted’ in any movies. But I have lost count of the number of films, irrespective of the language, I have watched,” Prasobh says, adding that he learnt the craft of filmmaking more through “Google and YouTube.”
The 32-year-old, a native of the city, now keeps his fingers crossed as his directorial début, Lilli , a revenge thriller, is all set to reach theatres on Friday. Scripted by Prasobh himself, the female-oriented film stars Samyuktha Menon of Theevandi fame as the heavily pregnant titular character. “ Lilli is a fast-paced survival thriller chronicling the escapades of a pregnant mother after she is abducted by a bunch of guys. On another level, it’s also the fight for life of the unborn child,” Prasobh says over phone from Kochi, stopping short of throwing more light on the “suspenseful” story. The tension-packed trailer too doesn’t give much away, though we get a glimpse of, presumably, some of the ‘culprits’.
Choosing to steer clear of the commercial path, Prasobh, who has worked in the pre-production of Dulquer Salman-starrer Theevram , says the film, which throws in some “inevitable” violence, caters to a niche audience of thrill-seekers and eschews song and dance “to maintain the intensity and pace.” He’s not surprised that some of the raw frames have earned Lilli an ‘A’ certificate from the Censor Board for graphic violence, but is not daunted that the certification may have an impact on box-office collection.
He “did his homework” while fleshing out the script to understand the physical and psychological changes that take place in a woman who’s expecting. “I spoke to several mothers-to-be to learn about their mindscape while shaping the lead character,” reveals the director. Samyuktha too chipped in, “paying visits” to the maternity ward at the General Hospital in Kochi to help her get into the skin of the character. “We then clubbed what we both learnt to flesh out Lilli,” he says.
Set in and around Kochi, Lilli also introduces a string of newcomers both before and behind the camera, while the line-up includes Aryan Krishna Menon, Kannan Nair (of S Durga fame) and the new face Dhanesh Anand. Prasobh says Samyuktha fit perfectly with the Lilli he had in his mind. “I was looking for someone who was fresh but also with some experience facing the camera. Right from get-go, I felt a good vibe about Samyuktha pulling off the role,” he adds. Sreeraj Raveendran has cranked the camera.
A huge fan of western movies, Prasobh, a graduate in English literature, says he constantly learns a thing or two from Hollywood as “they are technically very up-to-date”, listing Robert Rodrigues, Anurag Kashyap, Sreenivasan and Sathyan Anthikkad among the directors who inspire him. He is also looking forward to his next untitled project, a comedy entertainer scripted by Ratheesh Ravi ( Pullikkaran Staraa ) and Rajesh Rajendran ( Pakida ), with “the same production team.” For now, he is eager to wait and watch Lilli bloom.
