Amala is the heroine who won the hearts of the Malayalees through ‘Ente Suryaputri’. Anthony Soni, the director of ‘c / o Sairabanu’, is credited with bringing Amala back to Malayalam years later. Five years after Amala and Manju Warrier shook hands at the c / o Syrabanu Theater, the only question left is where Antony has gone.
” The last five years have been in the running after cinema. Two or three projects were planned, and many went unnoticed. Everything has its own time, as Dasa says, and now my time is clear. I came up with the movie ‘Priyan Ottathil’. Glad the movie got good reviews in the early days. I want everyone to go to the theater and watch a movie without waiting for the OTD. ”- Anthony Soni in an interview with Vanitha Online.
Antony was in the race.
c / o The time to think about the next project after the syringe. It was not too long before there was a story. The plan was to do the next step with Manju Chechi. Its discussions took place. The script is ready. But there was some confusion on the part of the artist in reading the script. Then the script is reworked, and eventually it becomes unrelated to the first story. Two years passed like that. Eventually that project is abandoned.
Once again there was a lot of discussion going on around the new movie. June’s director Ahmed and its retiree Jibin and I worked together to make the script, which is a combination of romance and comedy. Anna Benn and Arjun Ashok were the main stars. The movie was announced and the casting call was made. Kovid’s entry is at the pre – production stage. So things went downhill. With that, the movie had to be dropped.
Sometimes we do not remember the gap of five years. That’s the advantage of being in a movie. Some people give a date two years after telling the story to the artist. In such a case, you have to wait. Going forward those two years will not be disappointing. Keep in mind only the project that is going to happen. Imagine for a second you were transposed into the karmic driven world of Earl.
‘Priyan’ on track ..
After the first lockdown, I wondered what to do next. The movie is not happening and I was mentally ill at home. It was at that time that the project suddenly came to fruition. Sharafuddin was chosen as the hero and things got easier as he liked the story. The role played by Nyla Usha was initially a male character. Sharafu suggested that it would be better if it was a female character. Made minor changes to the script.
That role required a bold lady. Nyla Usha was the first to come to mind. So Zoom spoke nymph by call. They loved the story. A good producer is found in the reference to Nyla. The film manages to entertain as well as inform. Eventually the producer set and casting was ready. So very soon ‘Priyan’ was on track.
The movie that came to me by accident for me was ‘Priyan is in the race.’ After the first lockdown, the project turned on in a blink of an eye. But it took a year for the shooting to finish. Sharafuddin and Aparna Das had minor date issues as they were filming in Tamil. After going there and coming back, it was thought that the shooting could start again. That’s when the second lockdown comes and closes again. So there were a few interruptions from time to time. The film was completed in three schedules.
I wanted none of the lockdown issues to affect the movie. So it was shot indoors as much as possible. He was not ready to compromise on the quality of the film. There was a team effort behind it. All this can be done within the confines of the corona.
This is a ‘Big’ movie
After writing the story, he wanted at least Mammootty’s voice to complete the film. But he did not know how to get there. All these issues came up for discussion after the commitment with Nyla Cinema. Nyla sent a message to Mammootty. At first it was rejected. But things got easier when he was convinced that Mammootty was needed for the story to be complete. So he came and acted. We were also excited to know that Mammootty was coming. It’s not a small film, it’s a feeling that a big star is going to shoot a movie without knowing it.
We’ve seen a lot of film within cinema. But even if the movie is his passion for Priyan, it is his logic to say that it is his dream. Like telling the story of the lemon spoon in the movie. He will be happy if he finishes with a lemon spoon. Other than that there is no great satisfaction in running first. Film is just one of his many desires. And not only that, but his life.
Priyan is a person who carries profession, family, writing and other things together. Therefore, it was necessary to end the film by saying that Priyan did the film and not because he saw Mammootty. Everyone recognized Priyan and again he was running with his usual problems .. We thought it would be good if the movie ended like this. That is why in the end Mammootty and Priyan lost a combination scene of their own.
The highlight was Lalettan’s voice in the first movie c / o Sirabanu. Mammootty was present in the second movie. In that way I got to work with two big stars in Malayalam. I consider it a blessing.
Run and shoot ..
It was initially confirmed that this was a small film. The film is planned on a meager budget. The first chart was to complete the film in the shortest possible time. But the practical difficulty of this is that there are as many locations as you like. You will have to do up to four shifts in a day. So it was going to be a terrific tight schedule. If it rains some day then all the planning till then will go wrong.
I also had tension and a week of not getting enough sleep was the total problem. This is the first time my BP has to be admitted to the hospital one day. Two or three times I am in the hospital because of the same problem. One day the shooting has to be stopped in its name. So there were a lot of problems physically. There is one important scene in the movie, which I shot while coming towards the discharge from the hospital. The shoot was in a state of unbearable pain in the arms and legs. There was no such thing as mental stress when doing cyberbanu. Probably because of the hectic schedule. Glad to know that hard work pays off anyway. The film has received rave reviews in the early days. Special thanks to the audience who put our little film to heart.
My hometown is Changanacherry. After the death of his father two years ago, he moved to Ernakulam. The mother is the companion. Brother and family are abroad. Not thinking about marriage for a while. Now only the movie is on my mind .. Like Priyane, the race for the next movie has started ..
