Soumya Sadanandan is in the midst of a “ gupshup ” session with her heroine Nimisha Sajayan at the latter’s home in Kochi when I catch up with her on the phone. Her directorial debut, Mangalyam Thanthunanena , with Nimisha and Kunchacko Boban in the lead, is a few days away from release. With that, the petite Sou, as she is known in film industry circles, joins a select group of women directors in Malayalam cinema. This year, she happens to be the third woman director after Anjali Menon and Roshini Dinaker to be going in for a big release.
Soumya sounds relaxed about it even though she has been waiting for the moment for the last four years. “I got the story four years ago. I took it to many producers and tried to approach several artistes, but nothing happened for long. So before you ask whether I had to face challenges as a woman filmmaker, I want to say that the biggest challenge was in being a newcomer. Being a woman wasn’t an issue at all,” says Soumya. So does the weight of expectations unnerve her? “Not really. I have confidence in my product,” she says.
Lasting bond
Mangalyam Thanthunanena is an out-and-out family drama laced with humour. “It is a simple, straightforward story about a husband and wife, Roy (Kunchacko Boban) and Clara (Nimisha); there are no twists whatsoever,” she says.
Soumya explains that the title complements the storyline. “ Maangalyam thanthunanena means the sacred and auspicious thread or the mangalyasutram and it is the beginning of a Sanskrit verse recited in Vedic marriage rituals. The groom recites the same while tying the thread around the bride’s neck. The entire verse is a pledge and blessing, proclaiming that the thread is the foundation of their togetherness. The film resonates with the meaning of the verse. The title is more familiar to the Malayali audience as a line from the peppy pre-wedding song from Bangalore Days and so you can expect plenty of fun moments too,” she says.
Soumya Sadanandan with Kunchacko Boban on the sets of Mangalyam Thanthunanena
So, how did it feel to be the captain of the ship? “Surprisingly, I was very calm when we had the puja prior to the shoot. It was the moment I had been waiting for, but, I wasn’t overwhelmed. Even when we finished the shoot, I was at peace with myself. Since the film was with me for so many years, I knew what I wanted. In fact, Tony [Madathil, who wrote the story and screenplay] and I reworked the script several times, because it is not easy to make something simple and at the same time captivating. My job was to translate what was written on paper into visual language. When I finished the shoot, I felt that I had done justice to that process; may be, that’s why I was calm about everything,” she says, with no trace of excitement or nervousness in her voice.
Kunchacko Boban and Nimisha Sajayan in Mangalyam Thanthunanena
True, she was able to fall back on her experience as an assistant director and director of short films and a national award-winning documentary, Chembai: My Discovery of a Legend. Nevertheless, she firmly believes that “cinema is about teamwork”. “The skeleton of a film is the script and I am a director who expects each and every person to contribute towards the film. That is what I did in Mangalyam... because I had so many experienced artistes in the crew. I just had to give them their space, letting them understand their character instead of trying to act out each scene for them,” she says about her five-star cast, which includes Shantikrishna, Alencier Ley Lopez, Vijayaraghavan, Mini K.S., and Hareesh Kanaran, among others.
“The viewers will be able to relate to all the characters. There are many real-life situations minus any glam factor. Since I wanted a fresh pair, I roped in Chackochan and Nimisha. Nimisha has already proved her credentials. And I think this will be one of Chackochan’s best performances...,” she adds.
She is also enthused about the music of the film. In an interesting move, she had invited entries from new composers for three tracks. They got around 1,200 tracks via email and it was difficult for her to choose just three. The chosen ones are Revaa, Azim Roshan and Sunadh Sankar-Sukesh Sankar. The fourth is composed by Sayanora Philip. Another debutant is editor Christy Sebastian. Arvind Krishna is the cinematographer. The film, slated to release on September 20, is produced by UGM Entertainment.
A huge fan of Rajkumar Hirani’s films, Soumya also enjoys “the craft of Sreeni [Sreenivasan] sir and Sathyan [Sathyan Anthikkad] sir”. She says that rom-coms are a staple for the film buff in her. “Since I am a regular at film festivals, watch world classics and have hosted a film-based show, people expect movies of that genre from me. But I wouldn’t do that. I want to tell stories in different ways, in different languages.”
Fact file
Soumya, an engineer, gave up her job to become a filmmaker. Starting as an assistant director in Cinema Company, she has worked in films such as Idavappathi, Jawan of Vellimala and Olapeepi . She has anchored a film-based show Film Lounge on Kappa TV and acted in David and Goliath and Ormayundo Ee Mukham . Her documentary Chembai: My Discovery of a Legend won special mention in the non-feature film category at the 64th National Film Awards.
A huge fan of Rajkumar Hirani’s films, Soumya says that rom-coms are a staple for the film buff in her. “Since I am a regular at film festivals, watch world classics and have hosted a film-based show, people expect movies of that genre from me. But I wouldn’t do that. I want to tell stories in different ways, in different languages. I also like the craft of Sreeni [Sreenivasan] sir and Sathyan [Sathyan Anthikkad] sir.”
Family special
Roy and Clara, the protagonists of Mangalyam Thanthunanena, have had an arranged marriage. Clara comes from a well-to-do family and is careful about every penny she spends, whereas Roy is the exact opposite. Things become difficult when he loses his job and is left to deal with bank loans and financial troubles. How he overcomes one issue after the other form the narrative.
