The director’s cut

Actor Vineeth Kumar, making his debut as a director with 'Ayaal Njanalla', says he relished the experience of calling the shots.

V ineeth Kumar is not a bundle of nerves. The actor, who is making his debut as a director with Ayaal Njanalla , is concentrating on finishing the post production of his film on time. “I am not anxious about the fate of the movie. I cherished each stage of its making and have accepted all the stress, pain and strain in a positive way,” says Vineeth over the phone from Chennai. The movie, with Fahadh Faasil in the lead, has been written by Ranjith. In the cast are Ranji Panicker, T. G. Ravi, Mrudula Murali, Divya Pillai, Sreekumar and Noby among others. Vineeth, who has written the screenplay, talks about the movie:

For a debut director, it’s a dream start…

Yes, I have one of the best storywriters in Mollywood, Ranjith, and one of the powerful actors of Malayalam cinema and my close friend Fahadh on board. But that doesn’t mean it was an easy job. Ultimately I have to prove myself. Cinema has been a passion and I have always been interested in knowing what goes behind the camera. Those attempts have finally materialised in this work.

Fahadh has a fresh look in the movie?

The character demanded it. He plays Prakashan, who grew up in Koyilandy. But his mother packs him off to Kutch in Gujarat after he fails his class ten, to live with his uncle Chandran. He stays there for nearly 15 years and never returns to Kerala. Perhaps his mother’s demise cuts his roots. However, at a certain point of time, he has to go to Bengaluru. What happens during his stay in the city is the movie…

Working with Fahadh

My association with Fahadh goes back to the time when Fazil sir was making Aniyathipravu . I had gone to meet him and since he was busy with editing, he asked Shanu (Fahadh) to keep me company. We got acquainted and that friendship has become strong over the years. We can talk cinema for hours together. I had this passion for narrating stories and he would patiently listen to those. Five years ago I made my first ad film and after seeing that he told me that if I was making a movie, he would do all that he could to help me.

Thanks to our friendship, I had the freedom to highlight certain fresh aspects of Fahadh in the movie. I have tried to capture what I like about him. For instance, he has got that innocent smile that we haven’t seen much in his movies. I have been told that a director should really like his actor so that he could bring out the best in him. There are certain scenes in the movie that I watched with a lot of interest on the monitor.

On taking Ranjith’s story…

I love to weave interesting tales, based on what I see around me. I used to discuss my ideas with Ranji ettan (Ranjith) who gave me his feedback. But my problem is that after a point I get bored of a particular story and drop it, something which he didn’t appreciate. It was then that he gave me the story of Ayal Njanalla that Fahadh had already agreed to do. What more can a debut director ask for?

Now that there is a flood of new directors, how do you plan to stay put?

Filmmaking has been going through many changes and now you can make a movie with even a mobile phone. The business of cinema too has changed, with satellite rights playing a huge role. However, ultimately only those movies that bring the audience to the theatres will survive. Like any other debut director, certain aspects have fallen short of my expectations. For instance, after shooting certain scenes, I felt I should have shot more frames. At the end of the day, I know what the mistakes and drawbacks in my movie are. I will overcome those and make a better product next time.

Does that mean acting has taken a backseat, especially because you haven’t got the big break as an actor?

Not at all. I haven’t quit acting. I may not have got the kind of roles that I really want to do. There are many directors I would love to work with. I am still waiting for that. Direction is a phase of my career.