It’s 11 p.m. and there’s a heavy downpour. Ideally, the hullaballoo inside the KSRTC bus stand at Aluva should have died down by now. However, tonight, the entire place is abuzz as debutant director Santosh Nair and his crew finish shooting a crucial scene of Money Ratnam , which has Fahadh Faasil in the lead.
“As the title reveals the story has something to do with money and diamonds ( ratnam ). It’s a road movie, the thrilling events of which happen on the night of a December 30 and goes on for the next 24 hours,” says Santhosh.
Neil John Samuel (Fahadh), a sales executive at a car dealership in Kochi, is waiting for a bus at Vyttila mobility hub. He is on his way home after a launch party and has to wait at the hub for some time. Certain unprecedented incidents happen in that time, which sets him off on the ride of his life.
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The stories of Isaac Anakkadan (Renji Panicker), a businessman, Makudi Das (Joju George), a gang leader, another set of goondas from Tamil Nadu, and some brokers involved in illegal deals, also unravel as the journey progresses. All these stories intertwine at certain points.
“When Neil starts his journey from Vyttila, he has only one rupee left in his pocket, after paying for the bus ticket. But when he gets down at Aluva, he has a bag loaded with cash, which is worth a crore,” adds Santosh.
As the camera rolls, a KSRTC bus enters the stand, followed by an SUV.
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The moment the bus comes to a halt, a shady group of men led by Makudi jump out of the SUV and rush towards the bus. Neil too jumps out of the bus and runs into the darkness, the bag of cash clutched close to his chest. “We always get plenty of opportunities; it’s up to us to seize the day,” says Fahadh, after completing the shot. “There are two ways to proceed in life. It’s easy to hit the path of vice and a lot tougher to stick to the righteous road. This story is about a youth who is faced with this dilemma. Whatever path he chooses, though, his life changes forever,” adds the actor.
Niveda Thomas plays Pia Mammen, Neil’s intended. She is organising a charity programme the next day and is in need of funds.
Joju George, who has made a name for himself in films such as Neram and Trivandrum Lodge , sounds thrilled to be playing Makudi. “He is the ringleader of the gang based in Kochi. He gets involved in the story at a particular juncture, that too in an interesting way. But I can’t reveal more about the role,” says Joju.
Money Ratnam is the hundredth movie from The Century Films banner. Neil D’ Cunha is the cinematographer and Prashanth Pillai is the music director.
Stills are by Anu Padmanabh.