It’s a muggy day at the location of Vipin Atlee’s directorial debut film, Ben . From among the technicians gathered around one can hear Atlee shout out instructions to Ben (Gaurav Menon) and Chami (Adish Praveen), the two children who are pivotal to the film.
The film is, as Vipin puts it, “about kids but not a children’s movie. This one is for grown-ups. It looks at how we are with children.” The story revolves around 10-year-old Ben and “holds a mirror to society about how it functions and also addresses religious dogma.”
The house is located on the banks of the backwaters at Mulavukadu near Kochi. There are two options to get there – you foot it or get a two-wheeler to ferry you. We walk; past houses, through the compounds of a few, and reach a stagnant body of water across which lies the location. A narrow stone construction, not so much a bridge as a foundation of a wall, leads us across. Before we see the action, we hear Atlee at work.
The action takes place inside the house, it has the kids looking out of the window at an older cousin, ‘Aa-chettan’, essayed by Anwar Shereef. He is talking to a girl – the source of the children’s amusement. The ‘laughing’ isn’t good enough so a few takes ensue before the director gets the kind of laughter he seeks and the scene is canned.
Atlee made his film debut as an actor and scenarist with the modest Homely Meals . With Ben , he turns director. The script is close to his heart and he adds: “it is autobiographical.” As the scene is canned, veteran cinematographer Hari Nair starts work on the next.
Taking a break, Atlee talks about the film. “This film talks about things that happen right in front of us. Society in general believes that if someone doesn’t conform, something isn’t right with them. Then there is the ‘spiritual business’. So much happens beneath the surface in the name of religion and spirituality. And what happens when both come together?”
Ben doesn’t meet the standards set by society, which in turn meets his failure to meet his mother’s rather high expectations; the film charts the course of what happens subsequently.
Suraj Venjaramoodu essays the role of Ben’s father who is based in West Asia. The film also has the director of the blockbuster Vellimoonga , Jibu Jacob, donning the greasepaint as the older brother of the character essayed by Suraj Venjaramoodu. “Jibu suited the role, he was game for it when I asked him,” says Atlee. Anjali Upasana essays the role of Ben’s mother and Nila Noushad as Chami’s sister (Chikku).
The lyrics and music too are by Atlee. “I have done a number of ad jingles, so I am familiar with making music lest someone wonders what I am up to,” he says as he leaves for the next scene.
The film is being produced by Sajan K. George.
