It's as if you have stepped back in time when you enter one of the floors at Navodaya Studios at Kakkanadu where the shoot of director Akku Akbar's ‘Vellaripravinte Changathi' is going on. A song sequence featuring Dileep and Kavya Madhavan is the shot being canned.
“We are narrating a story in the ‘cinema within a cinema' pattern. The story begins with the discovery of a print of a film made during the mid-1960s. The film was made by a director called Augustine Joseph. The movie titled ‘Vellaripravinte Changathi' starred newcomers. The movie was based on a love story between Ravi (Dileep) and Sulekha (Kavya Madhavan), who belong to different castes. Owning to financial constraints, the director commits suicide and the movie doesn't reach the screen,” says Akku, director of movies such as ‘Veruthe Oru Bharya' and ‘Kaana Kanmani.'
On and off-screen love
He goes on to expand on the story: “A senior still photographer Varikkoli Master (Sai Kumar) who was deeply in the making of the film, narrates the incidents that happened during and after the making of the movie. The names of the actors who play Ravi and Sulekha are Shajahan and Mary. They were in love off-screen as well,” narrates the director. The cast includes Manoj K. Jayan, Indrajith, Manian Pillai Raju, and Ramu.
With heavy pancake make-up and period costumes, Dileep and Kavya look like they have stepped off the sets of a Sixties movie. Says Dileep: “It is great being able to play characters of different shades. Veteran producer Navodaya Appachan sir had dropped by the sets the other day. The set that has been put up must have evoked nostalgia in the veteran producer.”
Says Kavya: “I wanted to be part of this love story, when I heard it.”
Dileep and Kavya have played the lead pair in around 20 films. So, what makes their chemistry tick? “I have been cast opposite Dileep since ‘Chadranudikkunna Dikkil.' That was more than a decade ago. As you work together more often, you develop a rapport that translates on screen as well,” says Kavya.
‘Vellaripravinte Changathi' is being produced under the banner Chandvi Creations. Vipin Mohan and Sameer Haq crank the camera and music is by Mohan Sithara. Stills are by Zas Hamza.
