KOCHI: Within the late evenings, when the wind is cool and the earliest stars seem excessive within the night time sky, Selvaraj Raghavan VR would give himself a neck-shake and head to Lokadharmi Nadakaveedu — a small, devoted theatre group in Kerala’s Kochi.
For years, this 63-year-old headload employee would spend his days hauling heavy masses and his nights acting on the stage.The burden of his labour was lightened solely by his love of performing, a ardour that will quickly propel him and ten of his fellow theatre actors into the highlight of Indian cinema. All of them discovered themselves on the set of Aattam — a Malayalam-language movie by debutant director Anand Ekarshi — that received over audiences and critics alike, and swept three nationwide awards on August 16. Finest function movie, greatest screenplay, and greatest modifying. The story of Aattam is as compelling behind the scenes as it’s on display screen. This film, centred on the darkish penalties of male chauvinism, encompasses a solid drawn from on a regular basis life.
Jolly Antony, 42, works as a tile layer. Aji Thiruvamkulam, 60, is a painter. Santhosh Piravom owns a veggie store & drives an auto. Sijin Sijeesh operates a motor-winding workshop. Sudheer Babu, 48, is a drama instructor.
Unconventional movie: Aattam’s actors paused their day jobs to step into roles
Sanosh Murali is a percussionist. Prasanth Madhavan works as a tour operator, and Madhan Babu Ok is a govt worker. Selvaraj recalled the second that modified his life. Earlier than filming started, director Ekarshi known as him out of the blue and requested how a lot he would wish to go away his job for a month to work on the movie. Selvaraj modestly quoted Rs 25,000, and to his amazement, the subsequent day the cash was deposited into his account.
“It was like one thing out of a film,” stated the actor, who had performed a small function within the 2010 movie Kutty Srank starring Mammootty that additionally received the nationwide award. Selvaraj, alongside along with his mates, paused their day jobs to step into roles that required nothing greater than their actual selves. Their actual names even grew to become their character names within the movie. “Anand Ekarshi and (actor) Vinay Fortt gave us a crash course on how one can adapt actual life into cinema,” stated Piravom. “We have shared a long time of friendship, and this movie grew out of our love of theatre and storytelling.”
The creation of Aattam was unconventional, identical to its solid.
Ekarshi, a psychology postgraduate, crafted the movie with influences from Iranian filmmakers like Asghar Farhadi and the minimalist, psychological performs of August Strindberg.
His purpose was to retain authenticity, utilizing fewer places and easy costumes to construct a world that feels grounded and actual.
The story revolves across the aftermath of a girl’s sexual assault in a resort, exploring how the crime sends ripples via the lives of these round her. Zarin Shihab, who performs the lead character Anjali, initially centered on uncovering the thriller of who dedicated the crime.
“However throughout rehearsals, I realised that wasn’t the purpose. The story exhibits that it may very well be anybody. It was a cathartic expertise, each as an actor and an individual,” she stated. In contrast to the remainder of the solid, Shihab and co-star Kalabhavan Shajohn weren’t regulars at Lokadharmi Nadakaveedu. But they discovered themselves deeply intertwined with the group’s ethos. For Selvaraj and his fellow actors, the success of Aattam has been deeply fulfilling. As Aji put it: “Financially, theatre is not viable, however we do it for ardour and the satisfaction it brings.” And now, these newbie actors have proven that zeal, perseverance, and a stroke of serendipity can flip unusual lives into extraordinary cinema.
For years, this 63-year-old headload employee would spend his days hauling heavy masses and his nights acting on the stage.The burden of his labour was lightened solely by his love of performing, a ardour that will quickly propel him and ten of his fellow theatre actors into the highlight of Indian cinema. All of them discovered themselves on the set of Aattam — a Malayalam-language movie by debutant director Anand Ekarshi — that received over audiences and critics alike, and swept three nationwide awards on August 16. Finest function movie, greatest screenplay, and greatest modifying. The story of Aattam is as compelling behind the scenes as it’s on display screen. This film, centred on the darkish penalties of male chauvinism, encompasses a solid drawn from on a regular basis life.
Jolly Antony, 42, works as a tile layer. Aji Thiruvamkulam, 60, is a painter. Santhosh Piravom owns a veggie store & drives an auto. Sijin Sijeesh operates a motor-winding workshop. Sudheer Babu, 48, is a drama instructor.
Unconventional movie: Aattam’s actors paused their day jobs to step into roles
Sanosh Murali is a percussionist. Prasanth Madhavan works as a tour operator, and Madhan Babu Ok is a govt worker. Selvaraj recalled the second that modified his life. Earlier than filming started, director Ekarshi known as him out of the blue and requested how a lot he would wish to go away his job for a month to work on the movie. Selvaraj modestly quoted Rs 25,000, and to his amazement, the subsequent day the cash was deposited into his account.
“It was like one thing out of a film,” stated the actor, who had performed a small function within the 2010 movie Kutty Srank starring Mammootty that additionally received the nationwide award. Selvaraj, alongside along with his mates, paused their day jobs to step into roles that required nothing greater than their actual selves. Their actual names even grew to become their character names within the movie. “Anand Ekarshi and (actor) Vinay Fortt gave us a crash course on how one can adapt actual life into cinema,” stated Piravom. “We have shared a long time of friendship, and this movie grew out of our love of theatre and storytelling.”
The creation of Aattam was unconventional, identical to its solid.
Ekarshi, a psychology postgraduate, crafted the movie with influences from Iranian filmmakers like Asghar Farhadi and the minimalist, psychological performs of August Strindberg.
His purpose was to retain authenticity, utilizing fewer places and easy costumes to construct a world that feels grounded and actual.
The story revolves across the aftermath of a girl’s sexual assault in a resort, exploring how the crime sends ripples via the lives of these round her. Zarin Shihab, who performs the lead character Anjali, initially centered on uncovering the thriller of who dedicated the crime.
“However throughout rehearsals, I realised that wasn’t the purpose. The story exhibits that it may very well be anybody. It was a cathartic expertise, each as an actor and an individual,” she stated. In contrast to the remainder of the solid, Shihab and co-star Kalabhavan Shajohn weren’t regulars at Lokadharmi Nadakaveedu. But they discovered themselves deeply intertwined with the group’s ethos. For Selvaraj and his fellow actors, the success of Aattam has been deeply fulfilling. As Aji put it: “Financially, theatre is not viable, however we do it for ardour and the satisfaction it brings.” And now, these newbie actors have proven that zeal, perseverance, and a stroke of serendipity can flip unusual lives into extraordinary cinema.
