Adhil Maimoonath Asharaf was confident that he did not want his first directorial venture to be a rehash of stereotypical characters and story-telling. As a result, the director’s Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn (My brother had a love), also scripted by him, is a love story with engaging characters and a refreshing narrative.
Adhil’s casting coup was getting Bhavana in the lead. The popular actor makes her comeback to Malayalam cinema, after more than five years, in Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn. She plays the heroine to Sharafudheen’s Jimmy.
Adhil Maimoonath Asharaf, director of Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn, with Bhavana.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Adhil, an editor, was planning to turn director with a big-budget film. However, when he found it difficult to find producers for the project, he remembered a story that he had and decided to revive it. “Sharaf was the first actor we approached to play Jimmy,” Adhil says over phone from Chalakudy. “I wanted a well-known actor who had not been active on the big screen to play the heroine. The story is about two people meeting after several years. I felt a heroine returning to cinema after a gap would go with the flow of the narrative.”
That is when Bhavana’s name cropped up. Adhil wondered if she would be interested in the movie and approached her through Renish Abdulkhader, one of the producers of the film with Rajesh Krishna. After listening to the story and reading the script, Bhavana agreed.
Adhil’s directorial skills come to the fore in the shaping of the key characters, whether it be Nitya (Bhavana), Jimmy (Sharaf), his parents and relatives, his pampered much-younger sister, Mariyam (Saniya Rafi), or the others who people the story. “We have met all these people in real life. However, when it comes to the screen, a lot of the characters get templated. I wanted to make it look as real as possible. I depended on my circle of friends and relatives to mould the characters.”
So, Jimmy is far removed from the alpha males commonly seen in Malayalam cinema. Jimmy, quite a people pleaser, sheds tears, is hesitant about taking a stand when it comes to major decisions, and does not like to hurt his parents or loved ones.
The director explains that the actor took time to get into the shoes of his character as it was a role that he had not played before. “He wanted a reference for Jimmy, which I did not have. I gave him an elaborate sketch of the role and that helped him, eventually, to live Jimmy on screen.”
Bhavana’s character is a mother in the midst of a divorce. However, her character is not a victim but a confident, independent woman with a mind of her own.
Adhil says it is high time we “normalise” such characters on screen. “There are so many happy single mothers in our society and it is time we stopped showing them as victims all the time. There is a tendency to judge a divorcee who might have had a relationship prior to her marriage. Hence, many women tend to downplay that or deny it. Why should she? I was determined not to make all those templates the focus of my film, which is about two childhood sweethearts and friends meeting after many ups and downs in their lives.”
Adhil Maimoonath Asharaf, director of Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn, with Sharafudheen
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Shot in different locales in Kodungalloor, Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn tiptoes through certain issues that could have turned the story in a different direction. The navigation to avoid the plot becoming a minefield of issues is done so adroitly that the focus always remains on the romance of Jimmy and Nitya as they try to make up for lost time. Without harping on the different religions that the leads belong to or on Nitya’s abusive marriage, Adhil ensures that the story stays on track. Even while calling out toxic marriages, the movie does not deviate much from the basic storyline.
“I hail from Chalakudy, where we have several inter-religious marriages that we take for granted. I wanted my movie to reflect that reality.”
Fida, essayed by Anarkali Nazar, had all the potential to change the narrative into a predictable storyline where the hero is torn between two women. Adhil gracefully sketches Fida’s character without any tragedy-queen overtones.
It is Jimmy’s sister, Mariyam, who narrates the story of Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn. Aadhil had decided to hold auditions to select a child actor when he met Saniya Rafi through a friend. As soon as she auditioned, he knew they had met their Mariyam.
Yesteryear actor Ashokan, always a terrific actor, appears as Jimmy’s dominating, sports-obsessed father who tries to live his dream through Jimmy. Adhil agrees that Ashokan is a professional who concentrates on his role and so he had no qualms about greying his hair and appearing as Jimmy’s father.
Adhil hopes that viewers will see the film in theatres and not wait for it to reach streaming platforms.
