Angamaly Diaries, released on March 3rd this year, turned out to be one of the biggest hits in the Malayalam film industry. Directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and written by Chemban Vinod Jose, the film was produced by Vijay Babu under his banner Friday Film House. With 86 debutants in the star cast, the film’s main hero happens to be from Angamaly, a small town near Ernakulam in Kerala.
Angamaly Diaries had a unique narrative style which was well received by the critics and audiences as well. On picking newbies to be cast in the film, the director said in an interview to Hindustan Times, “It was a great process working with them. They were all from Angamaly, except a few I picked from elsewhere. The great thing was that they all knew the town and its ethos inside out.”
Stating that the film had a universal appeal, Lijo Jose Pellissery pointed out, “It could have happened anywhere in the world. We don’t have too many Malayalam films that focus on strong local cultures and that is what got the film extra attention. When I set out to make it, all I wanted was to do a film that was good and did good business.”
On making offbeat films, the director was candid enough to admit that he isn’t sure of what the audiences want, given the fact that three of his five films flopped at the box office, but that he wanted to offer something new.
Starring a bevy of youngsters like Antony Varghese, Reshma Rajan, Kichu Tellus, Ullas Jose Chemban, Sinoj, Varghese, and others, the film had music by Prashant Pillai. Girish Ganghadaran cranked the camera for this venture with Shameer Mohammed editing it.
The film grossed about Rs. 20 crores at the box office, giving stiff competition to some big budget movies with an impressive star cast, say sources.
(Content provided by Digital Native)