It’s a bright sunny day on the Arthunkal beach, Alappuzha. A priest leads a group of people followed by a local band. The people in the group beam at a young woman walking towards them. This is a scene from Sathyan Anthikkad’s latest film with Nedumudi Venu, Namitha Pramod and Nivin Pauly in the lead.
“I found this story interesting as the characters, the plot and the narrative are different from those I usually feature in my films. I also liked the fact that the story is narrated with the sea as a backdrop,” says Sathyan.
Chenthamara (Namitha), or Thamara as she is called, is a girl surviving on her own after the death of her father, when she was barely 12 years old. She is now a young woman of 18 and is living in a modest house by the seashore. She survives by doing small chores.
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Mohanan (Nivin) is her neighbour. Both Thamara and Mohanan are good friends and, eventually, their friendship blossoms into romance, though they realise that only much later.
Mohanan’s dream is to become a teacher. He, however, has to put his dreams on hold after his father’s sudden demise. The youngster becomes a fisherman to support his family. Taking tuition for the neighbourhood children helps him overcome his disappointment in not being able to realise his ambition.
“The story takes an unprecedented turn when Thamara finds a weary old man by the shore. His name is Kumara Panicker and is better known as KP (Nedumudi). As he is homeless, Thamara takes him home. Despite his cantankerous behaviour, KP is fond of Thamara. The relationship between Thamara and KP forms the main element of the story,” says Sathyan.
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The scene being canned has the priest and some of Thamara’s neighbours all set to celebrate, as a feature on Thamara has appeared in a newspaper. Innocent, Chembil Asokan, Siddhartha Siva, Dharmajan and Mahima enact some of the people in the crowd.
Namitha, who played a girl who undergoes a heart transplant in the film Traffic, says: “Once, when asked in an interview on what my ambition was, I replied that acting in a Sathyan Anthikkad film was my dream but when it actually happened, I was wonderstruck. I know I will have to live up to great expectations as Sathyan sir has introduced several talented actors in his movies. I am not thinking about that right now. Instead, I am concentrating on giving the role my best.”
Nivin, whose latest release Thattathin Marayathu has been well received at the box office, is all smiles. “Mohanan, my character in this film, is educated and takes care of his family. I am really happy about this role, which is indeed a challenging one as an actor, since I am not familiar with Mohanan’s lifestyle,” says Nivin.
In his usual style, Sathyan Anthikkad has not named his film, which is being produced under the banner of Ann Mega Media. Venu is the cinematographer. Benny P. Nayarambalam is the scenarist. Lyrics by Kaithapram have been set to music by Ilayaraja. Stills are by Momi.