Amar Akbar Anthony, a Malayalam comedy entertainer released five years ago, was a box office success that later got remade in Kannada under the title John Jani Janardhan. Recently, one of the writers of the film, Vishnu Unnikrishnan, who is also an actor, revealed that he and Bibin George had scripted it with the intention of playing some of the main characters themselves.
The film starred Prithviraj Sukumaran, Jayasurya, Indrajith Sukumaran in the lead roles with Namitha Pramod playing the heroine. It was directed by comedian, singer and filmmaker Nadhirshah.
Vishnu said in an interview to the Times of India that the character of Akbar, who has polio, was originally meant for his co-writer Bibin, who is a victim of the disease. However, the character was played by Jayasurya.
Sharing more details about the film, Vishnu said that in a scene where actor Bindu Panicker massages Akbar’s legs, the camera was on Bibin’s leg to avoid including graphics. In the interview, Vishnu disclosed that art director Sujith Raghav gave the idea to use Bibin’s leg for the scene. A leg of the bed had to be removed so that Bibin could put his leg on the cot from under the bed, while Jayasurya was lying on the bed. So, it was Bibin’s leg that Bindu Panicker was massaging, Vishnu revealed.
The film also featured Asif Ali, Akanksha Puri and Ineya in pivotal roles. The technical crew of this flick included Nadirshah for handling the soundtrack while the background music was by Bijibal. Sujith Vaassudev did the cinematography and John Kutty took care of the film’s editing.
Amar Akbar Anthony was bankrolled by Zachariah Thomas and Alwin Antony under the banners United Global Media Entertainment and Ananya Films on a budget of Rs 6.70 crore. The film was a massive box office success and went on to collect Rs 50 crore.
Watch: Song from Amar Akbar Anthony
(Content provided by Digital Native)