Cinema is a family affair for filmmaker M Mohanan, who struck gold with his directorial debut 'Katha Parayumpol' starring his brother–in-law, actor Sreenivasan. When his nephew Vineeth Sreenivasan rose to fame as a lead actor in Malayalam movies, Mohanan’s friends had urged him to direct a movie with the young actor. But the filmmaker, who waited for five long years to direct Katha Parayumpol with Sreenivasan, was not at all in a hurry to make a movie with Vineeth either.
Mohanan’s latest movie Aravindante Athidhikal, which is running into packed theatres garnering positive reviews, is the successful outcome of that determination and patience.
When scriptwriter Rajesh Raghavan approached Mohanan with the story of a young man named Aravindan who awaits guests at an old lodge near Mookambika Temple at Kollur, it was Vineeth’s face which came to the filmmaker’s mind. Mohanan, who has seen Vineeth grow up, was always impressed by the latter’s hospitality and friendly nature in real life. So when he heard the entire screenplay, the filmmaker was certain that if anyone could pull off the role of the kind-hearted and cheerful Aravindan, it would be his nephew Vineeth. Mohanan didn’t have to look much for an actor to play the role of Madhavan, a communist follower who owns the lodge as he clearly knew the role would perfectly suit Sreenivasan.
Aravindante Athidhikal is thus a truly a ‘family’ movie for Mohanan, who has already delivered superhit movies like Katha Parayumpol and Manikyakkallu.
Mohanan, while talking about his experiences in filmmaking and his latest release, revealed Sreenivasan has been his mentor. “I was studying for pre-degree when Sreeniyettan married Vimalechi. After their marriage I stayed mostly with them. Sreeniyettan was often away at the shooting locations, so it was I who took care of the domestic matters. After my studies I was jobless and was wandering like the popular characters Dasan and Vijayan of hit 1987 movie Nadodikkattu. One day, Sreeniyettan asked me what my plan was. When I opened up about my desire to become a director, he didn’t discourage me; instead, he asked me whether I was interested to become an assistant with director Sathyan Anthikadu,” Mohanan recalled.
Mohanan assisted the ace filmmaker Sathyan Anthikad in a number of films from Snehasagaram, starring Manoj K Jayan and Murali, to Thooval Kottaram in which Jayaram had played the lead role.
Later, Mohanana shared with his brother–in-law his dream to direct a movie on his own, that too with a screenplay written by the veteran actor and scriptwriter himself. He had to patiently wait for another five years for Katha Parayumpol to happen. The movie, which portrayed the beautiful friendship of a superstar named Ashok Raj and barber Balan conquered the Malayali hearts, went on to become one of the highest grossers that year. “That movie won the state award for the most popular movie in 2007. It was Sreeniyettan who gave me a dream debut in Malayalam cinema,” Mohanan said.
From real to reel
“The story of Katha Parayumpol was based on Sreeniyettan’s own experiences. All the four movies I made after that was also based on many news articles and features which had appeared in several newspapers and magazines,” Mohanan revealed on his inspiration.
On his inspiration for Aravindante Athidhikal, Mohanan disclosed that it was actually a feature about a mother who had been longing to see her lost son for 12 years. It had appeared in a popular women’s magazine. “A feature in 'Vanitha', written by journalist Geetha Bakshi, about how a woman was able to find out her long-lost sister became an inspiration for the movie. The words, "this long wait is the greatest pain” said by her really touched my heart. I used that dialogue in the movie as well,” Mohanan said.
Veteran actress Urvashi too plays a significant role in Aravindante Athidhikal. Urvashi, who is not active in Malayalam movies for quite some time, makes a comeback through this film.
Mohanan had imagined Urvashi to play the role of the heroine’s mother even when the scriptwriter narrated the character to him. The actress, who was impressed by the story, her role and an amazing star cast, did not have to think twice to say 'yes'. Urvashi will be next seen in the movie directed by Sreenivasan’s younger son actor Dhyan Sreenivasan.