“I'm proud of you #GeetuMohandas. Waiting to watch the movie. As your best friend, I want you to soar high, bring home more critical acclaim, box office success, awards. And hopes are high as #InshaAllah comes after the acclaimed National Award winner #LiarsDice.” Thus goes actor Manju Warrier’s Facebook post sharing the news about her friend’s next cinematic outing as a director.
Written and directed by Geetu herself, “Insha’ Allah” comes with the tagline “In pursuit of Akbar.” The movie tells the story of a 10-year-old boy living on an island who undertakes a journey in search of Akbar –his elder brother.
The movie is to be shot in Malayalam on the scenic shores of Lakshadweep and in Hindi when the shooting shifts to Mumbai.
“The script demands the integral use of both the languages, as the story incorporates both places. So when I say it is to be shot in Hindi and Malayalam, it doesn’t mean I intend to simultaneously release my movie in Hindi and Malayalam, as reported by some sections of the media,” Geetu chuckles in a telephonic interview with The New Minute.
Elaborating on the script, Geetu says: “This was just one of the seven scripts chosen in a year by Sundance Lab from applications received from all over the world. We then had an intense one-week workshop in Goa where we got to indulge in brainstorming sessions with mentors who are renowned global filmmakers endowed with a wealth of experience. This back-and-forth throwing of creative ideas is a huge learning process which goes on to add to the cumulative film-making experience as a whole.”
The beauty of this workshop –Geetu shares- lies in the fact that there are no hard and fast rules as to how a particular script should shape up: “We have the freedom to accept as well as reject ideas that come our way.”
“Insha’ Allah is a script I carried around with me for around two years, nurturing and nourishing a tale which is simple yet elaborately structured in a timely yet poignant manner,” Geetu explains.
She prefers to keep her choice of the lead actor a secret. She does however share that the remaining cast would have actors with theatre backgrounds preferably, though she is not averse to casting an established actor too, if the story so demands.
Shooting will commence post-monsoon with Rajiv Ravi –famed cinematographer and also her spouse- behind the camera.
Debuting in the 1986 Malayalam movie “Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare” which bagged her the Kerala State Film Award for the Best Child Artist, Geetu has gone on to act in more than 40 films in three South Indian languages before venturing into direction.
Well-received by both critics and masses alike, her debut film “Kelkunnundo?” (Are you listening?) was produced by Unplugged -her own film production company that she started with her husband in 2009.
Her next movie “Liar’s Dice” bagged two National Film awards –Best Actress (Geetanjali Thapa) and Best Cinematography (Rajiv Ravi)- and was also India’s official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film Category.
With “Insha’ Allah expected to hit the screens by the middle of next year, we hope to see another well-crafted masterpiece from Geetu which would provide viewers yet another glorious cinematic experience.