I have never seen my father lose his cool on the sets: ‘Anand Sreebala’ director Vishnu Vinayan

Actor Vishnu Vinay who turned director with the Arjun Ashokan-starrer ‘Anand Sreebala’, which hit theatres on Friday, recalls working with his father and acclaimed director Vinayan on his film sets. “Many people might say Vinayan is a short-tempered man. But, on the sets, he is extremely cool. I love how he interacts with the cast and crew of each film. He taught me the importance of keeping one’s cool on the sets, a lesson I imbibed for the shoot of ‘Anand Sreebala’," he said.

The movie is loosely based on a real-life incident that shook the collective conscious of Kerala. An aspiring policeman and titular character (Arjun Ashokan) is tasked with solving a woman-missing case. His mother Sreebala (Sangeetha Madhavan) who passed away when he was just 14 remains a constant presence in his life as a friendly spirit.
Vishnu has collaborated with ‘Malikappuram’ writer Abhilash Pillai for the film. Earlier, the actor-turned director had written the script for his father’s film ‘Hareendran Oru Nishkalankan’, which released in 2007.

“I joined my father’s distribution wing when he was facing a ban from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). After that, I had worked in the production wing. Though I had plans to direct a film much earlier, none of the stories worked out as I planned. So, I became a full-fledged actor. One thing led to another, and now I am here with Anand Sreebala,” he said.

Studying in the US
Vishnu, who made his debut as an actor with Vishnu Govind’s movie ‘History of Joy’ completed his Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Virginia Tech University in USA. There he encountered a life-changing incident that continues to give him the shudders. “It was April 16, 2007. I was pursuing my bachelors there, when one day, a South Korean student went on a killing rampage in our university campus. He had first entered a hostel and killed two students, following which, he went class after class to kill the other students and professors. We were alert about the incident and we ran for our lives. I still remember the dead bodies and police waiting for us outside the campus. Some of them who were killed were acquaintances,” Vishnu said.

Has he ever considered doing a film on the subject? “No, I think it is still traumatic to me. One of my close friends who is a first Associate Director in Bollywood had approached me to create a story in Indian context. I don’t know how it would work out. Though I may never make this a movie, I think, it is a subject that people can work on,” he said.