Director Mithran Jawahar has made four films so far, all of them remakes: Yaaradi Nee Mohini , Kutty , Uthamaputhiran, and Meendum Oru Kadhal Kadhai , his latest release after a break of six years. He attributes this lengthy hiatus to his attempt at writing an original script. “But some promising projects, one of them with Vijay Antony, got shelved,” he says. Mithran’s concerned friends advised him not to wait too long. “And all the while, producers kept approaching me with ideas for remakes. Original film pannavida maatengaraanga sir,” he laughs ruefully.
He says most producers are under the impression that remakes are safer. “But they are risky business too, especially for us, the directors. When a remake does well, we don’t really get the credit, but when it fails, we sure get the blame.” Despite these misgivings, Mithran decided to do the remake of Malayalam hit, Thattathin Marayathu , as he “really liked the film. Even though it’s the time-tested tale of a Hindu boy falling in love with a Muslim girl, it doesn’t really go the Bombay route and get into caste dynamics.”
Nevertheless, Mithran found it necessary to make a few changes. “The original, being mainly about conversations, can seem slow-paced for our audiences. So, we have brought in some comic relief, and added a song.” While he has managed to retain Isha Talwar, the actress from the original film, the actor is a debutant. “Walter Phillips (the actor), the producer’s son, is a bit like Nivin Pauly (who played the hero in the Malayalam film). If I thought Walter was ill-suited, I’d have refused the project.” The setting, a big part of the original, is Nagercoil here. “But I’ve focussed more on the plot than the setting.”
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Mithran is confident about the success of