Oh boy! He’s only 23 and he already has two feature films under his belt. Director Rojin Thomas’ debut film, the heart-warming children’s movie Philips and the Monkey Pen, wowed audiences with its refreshing content and his second film, Jo and the Boy , releasing today, has all the makings of a hit, if not for anything else, for the sheer screen presence of Manju Warrier in the lead.
Jo and the Boy is Manju’s fourth film since her return to the silver screen and a highly anticipated one at that, for it’s the first time that the actress is playing a solo lead, with only child actor Sanoop Santosh for company. It’s the tale of Joan Mary John, an observant young animator who is also a keen photographer and how her life takes an interesting turn when she encounters 10-year-old, Chris.
“Animators have this amazing ability to make things seem pleasant and rosy, when in real life it would be quite the contrary. For example, most of us have an aversion to mice but when the animal is animated as a Mickey Mouse or a Jerry, everybody just loves them,” says Rojin, who seems to be an old hand at not letting the cat out of the bag.
“This is a story that tugs at the heartstrings of the audience. I want people to go for a movie and come out feeling happy; feeling that, for a little while, at least, everything is alright with the world. It’s such a happy-go-lucky film that the tagline of Jo and the Boy is ‘see happiness,’” says Rojin, during a short break from the final mixing of the film.
Happy he may be, but the youngster, a native of the city, admits that he is rather nervous about the expectations too.
“That my first film [which he co-directed with buddy Shanil Muhammed] was a hit, just adds responsibility on me to make sure that this one is a hit too. And because of that, Jo and the Boy was all the more challenging a film to make. That’s why I took my time – two years – to develop the characters of Jo and Chris, which, incidentally, came to me as a germ of an idea while we were filming the story of Ryan Philip in Monkey Pen . Besides, a lot of people have got a lot riding on the film and it’s a very competitive field nowadays,” explains Rojin.
It helps that the film is in the hands of a thespian like Manju. “I think I am the youngest director that Manju chechi has ever worked with. Sanoop is also her youngest ‘co-star’ ever. She certainly doesn’t need any conduct certificate from me, but I’ve got to say that her commitment to her craft is exceptional. She is game for anything – climbing trees, shooting for hours on end in the face of biting cold winds on location in Kodaikanal, getting up at dawn to take a plunge in an ice-cold stream… Growing up, I remember watching her with awe on screen in films like Summer in Bethlehem . I was only eight or so years old when she bid adieu to filmdom and I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that she is acting in my film!” says Rojin, with a laugh.
It also helps that his friends, the same team behind Monkey Pen , were with him this time too; people like music composer Rahul Subramanian, cinematographer Neil D’Cunha, young Sanoop… Only Shanil was missing from the scene of action and that too only because he is presently working on his own film.
“Time and time again, good cinema, ground-breaking cinema has been product of friendship. We’ve seen it in the past in Malayalam cinema and we’re seeing a resurgence of sorts now. In fact, I owe my career in filmdom to my friends,” says the filmmaker and writer. “If I had not met like-minded film buffs like Shanil and Rahul, I would not be where I am today. When working with friends there is no ego, no clash; just well-intentioned criticism and therein lies my strength,” he says.
Then again, Rojin says he is a firm believer in the idea that if a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help him to realise his dream, in his case from the womb itself!
“I’ve always been interested in films and filmmaking, though I never formally trained in it. My father owned a video store in the city and family legend goes that when my mother was pregnant with me she’d spend hours watching films. My parents never held me back from pursuing my dreams even when I dumped nautical science and a future in the Merchant Navy for films. And all throughout school [St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School] my teachers too encouraged my creative pursuits, while I made short films. I’m truly blessed that I have a whole lot of well-wishers who support me. It’s for them and people like them that I make my films,” he says. Attaboy Rojin!
