In 2005, one of the biggest hits in Malayalam cinema was Udayanu Tharam . The film about an aspiring director and his unscrupulous actor friend appealed not merely to the masses, but the critics as well. K.G. George, one of the masters of Malayalam cinema, had picked the film’s director, Rosshan Andrrews, as some one to watch out for.
Ten years later, after making films like Notebook and Mumbai Police , Roshan is spreading his wings. His first film outside Malayalam, 36 Vayadhinile , the Tamil remake of How Old Are You , is a hit. He is also thinking of making it in Hindi.
Before long, he could be directing Kamal Haasan as well. “I have had about eight discussions with him and will begin the film as soon as we agree on the story. The film will be in Malayalam, but Kamal would be making it in Tamil as well,” Rosshan told Friday Review .
About 36 Vayadhinile , he says he was confident that the film would be accepted by the Tamil audience. “One of the first people to see the film was director Priyadarsan; he said it came out even better than How Old Are You and that I should not make any changes at all in the version I had screened for him. That gave me a lot of confidence,” he says.
Rosshan, however, adds that making a film in Tamil was not something he had dreamt of. “I had a wish to make a Bollywood film and it almost happened; but, somehow, my plans to remake Udayananu Tharam in Hindi didn’t work out. After I finished shooting How Old Are You , I felt it had the potential to be remade in Tamil and I thought Jyothika would be ideal for the role played by Manju Warrier,” he explains. Jyothika agreed to do the film just a couple of days after she watched How Old Are You along with her husband, Suriya, who wanted to produce it. “I enjoyed working with Jyothika. She gave me much more than what I expected from her. Suriya proved a fantastic producer too. I am glad that the film has done well. It was made at a budget that was not more than the remuneration of a second rung hero in Tamil,” he says.
“I also would be making a Tamil film with Suriya,” he says.
His next film is Nale Ravile in Malayalam, starring Prithviraj and Nyla Usha. “ Nale Ravile is going to be a thriller but the focus would be on the family audience. The film would also be about hopes in life. I will start shooting the film as soon as Prithviraj completes the two films he is doing currently. It is written by Bobby and Sanjay, with whom I enjoy a great rapport,” he says.
Looking back at his career, he says he has no regrets. Not even about Casanovva . “It was a box-office failure, and I, along with Bobby and Sanjay, take the responsibility for that. I think it didn’t work because of the long time it took to reach viewers from the time it was conceived. It wasn’t intended as a film that would outlive its time. Still, I thought the film had its moments; its stylised making was appreciated by many,” he says.
Rosshan is enjoying the break from his work these days. “I have some time for me before I start filming Nale Ravile . I am going to enjoy the rains till then,” he says.
