Priyan Ottathilaanu: Abhayakumar and Anil Kurian's feel-good comedy is about selfless people

Scriptwriter-duo Abhayakumar and Anil Kurian, who have written movies like 'Punyalan Agarbathis' and 'Chathurmukham,' are back with a feel-good film this time.

The movie, titled 'Priyan Ottathilaanu,' tells the story of a hyperactive Priyadarshan aka Priyan, played by Sharafudheen, and the film focuses on an important day in his life. It goes on to show whether the day changes his life or not, and how.

Apparently the seed of the idea were sown in their lives by regular people whom they have interacted with, from time to time. Abhay and Anil explain, “There are many arund us, who are constantly on the run to fulfil diverse tasks, irrespective of whether they add any value to their lives or not. It gives them happiness and our society calls them 'selfless people' who sacrifice their happiness for the common good. For them, service is like breathing, and it gives them immense happiness and contenment. As the saying goes, 'You can only serve when your cup is full,' isn't it? They aren't scared of embracing life as it is and letting things go, if required.”

The duo, who have about two decades of experience in the IT industry, took a break from their thriving careers to follow their passion for writing. “It wasn't easy, but we could sense our passion evolving and the support around us for the same and the courage within us to take that plunge at the time. So, we decided to go for it,” the writers say.

They acquainted with each other through their common friend, filmmaker Ranjith Sankar, while assisting for his film 'Molly Aunty Rocks' in 2012. Later, Ranjith gave them the chance to jointly script his next directorial, and that was 'Punyalan Agarbathis,' which turned out to be a smash hit.

The writers say that they feel great about their previous movies getting noticed in the industry. “'Sudhi Vathmeekam' portrayed the evolution of an individual into a confident person despite speech impediments, while 'Punyalan...' showcased the trials and tribulations an entrepreneur faces in our society. 'Chathurmukham' dealt with a new concept, 'techno-horror,' in the industry,” says the duo, who also explain that they have both learnt to complement each other with their throughts, ideas and improvisations, over the years. “We even understand and complete each other's strength and weaknesses, which is probably a quality we have acquired from our IT stint,” they say.

'Priyan Ottathilaanu', the scriptwriters say, is going to be a thought-provoking story which will also be relatable for the audience. “At a time in which no one wants to fail the rat race we are all in, people like Priyan are exceptions. They find happiness even in their failiures.”

Malayalam has seen quite a few hit writer duos like Siddique and Lal, Rafi-Mecartin, Sibi-Udayakrishna, Sachi-Sethu and more, who have captured the pulse of different generrations over time. Abhayakumar and Anil also hope to do the same through variety stories and scripts, which entertain the audience.