Jose Sebastian is pleased that his “dream of directing a film” has come true. His directorial début, Ente Ummante Peru, has struck an emotional chord with the audience for its often humorous and heart-warming portrayal of a young man’s search for his mother after his father’s demise.
“I was quite confident about Ente Ummante Peru doing well but was also equally nervous since it’s my début,” says the 31-year-old with a laugh over phone from Ernakulam.
The focal point of the film is the chemistry between Tovino Thomas, who plays Hameed, a shy guy who goes on a quest to shed his yatheem (orphan) status, initially, for better matrimonial prospects, after his polygamous father’s passing, and Urvashi, who plays the eccentric Ayisha who effectively keeps us on tenterhooks to find out if she’s his biological mother or not.
Although the movie saw the light of the day now, Jose says the seed of the story took root in his mind during his film school (International Film School Sydney in Australia) days in 2012. “I started writing the story in 2015 and finished the first draft by early 2016. I then collaborated with my friend (débutante screenwriter) Sarath R Nath and we polished the script,” says Jose, who studied Computer Science engineering before entering tinsel town.
A still from Ente Ummante Peru | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The director had already cast Tovino and Urvashi in the key roles way before the former became the star he is now. “When I met Tovi on the sets of Ennu Ninte Moideen and narrated the story to him, he liked it and committed himself to the project at once. As for Ayisha, I could recall no other face other than Urvashi chechi’s,” he says.
However, bankrolling the project and Tovino’s subsequent jam-packed schedule delayed the production.
Jose, who has previously assisted Marathi filmmaker Nikhil Mahajan and Lijo Jose Pellissery, says he chose such a theme as he “loves to understand and explore human relationships” and how they can be represented fruitfully on screen.
“That’s what I look for in my reading too,” he says, mentioning M Mukundan, SK Pottekad and Vaikom Mohammad Basheer as some of his literary inspirations.
Ente Ummante Peru captures the look and feel of Thalassery in its essence, amply evinced in the Malabari dialect most of the characters converse in, and Jose points out that the scenes were shot where they were set. “I have a lot of friends from the Malabar belt and this helped nail the dialect while writing the dialogues. So the setting came to my mind quite naturally. However, we also did some research to get the backdrop accurate.”
Jose Sebastian | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Having actors such as Mamukkoya and Hareesh Kanaaran who naturally have a north Kerala accent in the line-up only helped his cause. Thalassery, Kozhikode and Ponnani served as the main locations while he credits Spanish cinematographer Jordi Planell Closa for zooming in on some photogenic locales of Lucknow and its surroundings where Hameed’s quest takes him to.
Jose says he was flexible with his script and tapped into his “talented cast” for improvisations, especially in the humorous scenes, “to bring in the actors’ signature contributions” as well.
As the dust settles, Jose is eager to move on to new projects, though, at this point, he prefers not to divulge any details.
He, however, acknowledges that the success of his début has been “a massive confidence booster” to take up bigger, better projects.