For the record

RJ-turned-filmmaker Jean Markose’s Angels is a social thriller set against the backdrop of an investigative news show.

Joy Mathew, Asha Sharreth and Indrajith in a scene from Angels directed by Jean Markose.

Lunch break is just over on the set of debutant director Jean Markose’s Angels , the shooting of which is going on at the expansive Chitranjali studios in Thiruvananthapuram. Most of the cast and crew have taken refuge from the heat inside an air-conditioned soundstage on campus, which has been converted to look like the set of a television news show. The central podium of the set of the news show, ‘Views 24x7’, has a round table and three revolving chairs. To the left is a row of bleachers for the audience packed with supporting artistes and to the right is a bay holding four microphones, where four members of the show’s ‘panel’ sit. A giant screen dominates the backdrop of the podium.

While the crew get ready for the next shot, the debutant director, a well-known RJ and short filmmaker in Dubai, talks about the film. “It’s a social thriller that revolves around ‘Views 24x7,’ a popular crime and investigative show, hosted by journalist Haritha Menon (Asha Sharreth). Angels is really the story of three people – Hameem Haider, a cop, Father Varghese, a priest of a church in a coastal village, and Haritha herself,” says Jean.

When shooting resumes, Indrajith, who looks spiffy in jeans and jacket, takes a chair on the podium. The camera, wielded by Sujith Sarang, zooms in on a close-up of the actor, who says a few dialogues with an expression laced with anger. Presumably he is replying to Haritha’s questions. The actor’s face fills the big screen at the back. “I play the role of Hameem Haider. It’s the seventh or eighth cop role of my career. But he’s not the hot-headed or aggressive kinds like Vattu Jayan in

Left Right Left . You can say he is a loser and that’s what makes this role different from other traditional cop roles. Hameem, who is an officer with the special armed police force, has lost his way, following a case, and he is struggling to come to terms with the failure,” says the actor, while the camera crew decide the angles for the next shot.

“Director Jean is actually my cousin-in-law, married to my cousin, Maya, who is also an RJ. When he narrated the story to me, I liked it for the powerful social message it has and I immediately signed the deal with a handshake,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Asha reaches the set. Dressed in a fitted peacock blue tailored salwar, her fabulous curls tied back with a clip, she looks every inch a woman who means business, but in a slightly different way from her role as tough cop Geetha Prabhakar in Drishyam . “Haritha is as unscrupulous as Geetha. However, unlike Geetha, she doesn’t let emotion get in the way of her job,” says Asha. Joy Mathew plays the priest, who the director describes, “as rugged and tough as the fisher folk and the environs of the village he lives in.” Then, what does the title mean? “That’s the suspense. Who or what are angels will be revealed in the climax, a part of which is being shot now,” explains Jean.

The film is being produced under the banner of Cloud Four films. Jakes Bijoy has composed the music.