Shanavas K Bavakutty is in a hurry when I call him. “Interview? Ten minutes?” he asks me. “Umm...might take more than that.”
So, we fix a time and when I call he is again anxious about the time.
Just as well because his second film, Thottappan, is ready for release on June 7. It comes two years after his debut film, the critically acclaimed Kismath (2016), starring Shane Nigam and Shruthy Menon, which touched a chord with its inter-religious love story and won the Kerala State Award for Best Debut Director.
Thottappan is based on a short story written by Francis Noronha. Why did you want to make it into a film?
Yes, it was published by DC Books based on a short story that appeared in Mathrubhumi magazine. When I saw it through the lens of a filmmaker, I thought it had the potential to be made into a film. I spoke to the writer and with the help of a screenplay writer and technicians, Thottappan was formed. I wouldn’t say that it’s a complete adaptation of the book, but the soul is intact.
When you read the story, Vinayakan was already in your mind?
Of course, I was moved by the father-son bond in the story and it’s not the conventional one. If someone like Vinayakan became Thottappan, it will be intriguing, and it helped that he was as excited. He was with us from the inception till the making.
How is Vinayakan as an actor?
He is a born actor. It’s difficult to predict what he will do between “Action” and “Cut”. We can only follow what he will deliver and look on with anticipation as he brings something newer to his acting. He is one of our finer actors today.
And screenwriter Raghunath Paleri makes his debut as an actor?
When we find actors who resemble the characters, the process becomes easier. It was great that I could find apt actors for each of the characters, just the way I visualised. I call Paleri Uppachi - we share a father-son bond - and he very sweetly agreed to act. I am so proud that I could present him as an actor and Vinayakan as a hero.
You are not professionally trained. Does it sort of help?
I don’t know since I have not learnt it as a theory. I have mostly learnt through watching films. It’s also about comfort. About bringing what I visualised to the screen. The magic you see in the final outcome is something you can’t predict. All you can do is give it your best shot with all honesty. I approach a film with my heart. It helped that I have worked with technicians who have learnt cinema in some of the best institutes in India and we seem to understand each other. More than academic qualification, I think it’s about how we approach cinema. There are so many qualified technicians who are still struggling to bring out their first film.
Can we make a film by just watching films?
I learnt it that way at least and I am constantly learning. I am 42 years and still learning, still evolving as a person and filmmaker. Art is also a way of life. Between Kismath and now I have learnt new things.
What did you learn after making your first film?
I had no idea about its commercial value when I made Kismath. But with Thottappan, I know how to market it, the audience it will target. Each film is a new experience and ultimately it’s just about entertaining the audience.
Filmmakers seem to be under pressure to make politically correct films these days...
I don’t think I am consciously doing it. It’s not about making politically loud films with slogans but about telling a story in its most effective way. When we are more bothered about making a political statement than entertaining the audience, I think it defeats the purpose of filmmaking. Even if a film makes us cry, it can entertain us. Paleri sir’s Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu and Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare are films that entertain us in different ways.
Who are the filmmakers who influenced you?
If not for Rajeev Ravi’s Annayum Rasoolum, I wouldn’t have had the courage to make Kismath. I am influenced and inspired by everyone who makes good cinema.