“Is this another interview about my parents? So boring, man! That’ll be like chewing the cud...,” says Sidharth Bharathan, refreshingly unapologetic and forthright, when we catch up with the actor-director on the phone. While it’s always interesting to hear titbits about life with his father, legendary Malayalam director, the late Bharathan, and his mother, actor KPAC Lalitha, not this time, though. After two films as a director and a handful of acting credits as well, and now a third that has all the marking of a BO hit, Sidharth, we feel, is at a place in his career in cinema where he doesn’t really need to fall back on the legacy of his illustrious parents.
“My new film Varnyathil Aashanka: Athu Thaan Allayo... Ithu,is a simple, straightforward tale, driven more by my need of getting back into films [after a grievous accident that had put him out of action for some time] than sending out any deep social message. After two films, sure I’ve evolved as a filmmaker, especially with my knowledge of films and filmmaking but I remain a student of cinema and I believe my best is yet to come. That’s what keeps me going in the face of adversity,” says Sidharth.
The 34-year-old debuted as a filmmaker with Nidra, a remake of the cult classic directed by his father, a decade or so after he made his entry as an actor in college flick, Nammal. His last film was Chandrettan Evidaya...?, an entertainer that had a good run in theatres, and in between he also acted in a couple of films.
The rather perplexing title of his latest film at the helm is taken from ulpreksha, a figure of speech in Malayalam poetry that indicates ‘similarity in an indirect way, especially in cases where the differences between the subject and the object are more marked.’ “Varnyathil Aashanka... is sort of apt because the film talks about duplicity and double standards in the way people act and behave, which viewers can easily link to certain incidents and farces in the present political scenario,” explains Sidharth.
It’s the tale of four small-time criminals, Kavta Sivan (Kunchacko), Para Wilson (Chemban Vinod Jose), Chambara Gilbert (Manikantan Achari) and Pradeesh (Shine Tom Chacko), which unfolds in a village somewhere in Thrissur. The quartet cook up something, only for the plan to go awry when they come across an ordinary villager, Tips Dayanandan (Suraj Venjaramoodu). How they bumble their way to their destination, despite Dayananandan throwing a spanner in the works, forms the crux of the story. “It’s a comedy of errors; not slapstick but more of the realistic kind, with doses of sarcasm,” says Sidharth, now, apparently, a big believer of the realistic trend that’s taken over Malayalam cinema. He’s even done away with playback songs (save for a title number) and there is no love track in the film as well.
Everyday heroes
“In these times, reality is often much stranger than fiction and perhaps that’s why modern audiences prefer everyday heroes, with whom they can connect with on an emotional level. Malayalam cinema is adapting to this change in attitude and so we are seeing a gradual change from outright hero worship of the past to real stories. That’s why we decided that we don’t need songs to heighten the mood nor a secondary romantic track,” he explains, hastening to point out that the hero Kavta Sivan is by no means a hero. “He is an unapologetic reprobate, with no saving graces whatsoever and therein lies his charm. In real life, Kunchacko is known as a goody two shoes, very cultured and suave. Sivan is the anti-thesis, a character you would never expect from the actor, which he has pulled off quite magnificently,” adds Siddharth.
The film has been written by Thrissur Gopalji, veteran theatre-person and graduate of the Thrissur School of Drama. This is his first script. “Goplaji is a long-time acquaintance and where ever we meet up, we’re always discussing films. The idea for Varnyathil... popped up one day and together we developed it into a workable script,” says Sidharth. Both of them being from Thrissur, the script is very much rooted in the district, a motif that seems to be a Sidharth favourite. “Lately, I have been spending more and more time in Thrissur and Wadakkancherry, my home town, and the more time I spend here, I’m inspired by people, places, dialect and stories in the district,” he says.
Varnyathil Aashanka... has been produced by Usman M.E. under the banner of Ashiq Usman Productions.