I design the content of my movies, says Malayalam director Krishand

Expectations are high as film director Krishand, with two state-award-winning films to his credit for Vrithakrithiyilulla Chathuram (2019) and Avasavyuham (2021), releases his third movie, Purusha Pretham, on March 24 on SonyLIV.

In a pre-release interview, the director says that the film is a “police procedural comedy in the crime noir cinema template of the West. But it has a Kerala milieu and is told in a humorous way.”

Krishand heard Manu Thodupuzha’s story from scriptwriter Ajith Haridas long before he made Vrithakrithiyilulla Chathuram. “Ajith had plans to direct it then. But I had told him that if at all he finds it difficult to helm, I would take it up. Eventually, I got that chance in 2018. The script had to be reworked,” says Krishand.

The trailer hints at an unidentified corpse, a pretham, which could mean a dead body or a ghost in Malayalam. Pretham is the official term for a dead body used by the Kerala Police. Sub-Inspector Sebastian, or Super Sebastian as he is called, heads the investigation. “While Ajith’s priority in the script was problems faced by the marginalised, I saw other possibilities. Every human system is built on hierarchy and equality doesn’t actually work for our survival. These aspects were combined and I worked out a narrative that has end-to-end humour,” he explains.

Humour has been a constant in his movies. “That’s because it works with the audience. Our films usually have humour that comes from punch dialogues or slapstick comedy. Purusha Pretham has comedy arising from dialogues, slapstick, subtle humour, the music etc. The attempt has been to make the narrative as entertaining as possible so as to make the dark theme – ghosts, dead bodies etc – palatable for the audience,” he says.

Prasanth Alexander, slowly evolving as a bankable character actor, plays the protagonist. “He is a fabulous actor. However, nobody was willing to invest in a film headlined by him,” Krishand says. Prasanth himself stepped in as a producer and also brought in Einstin Media (Einstin Zac Paul). Jeo Baby, who was impressed with Avasavyuham, came on board with his producers from Mankind Cinemas. Symmetry Cinema (Vishnu Rajan and Sajin Raj) also joined in. “I was given a free go and there was no interference from them. We sold the film [to SonyLIV] and the problem was solved,” Krishand says.

Darshana Rajendran, Jagadeesh, Mala Parvathy and Devaki Rajendran, besides several artistes from his previous films, such as Rahul Rajagopal and Zhinz Shan are in the cast.

Post-modern narrative

Krishand emphasises that people should not expect the out-of-the-box experience they had in Avasavyuham in Purusha Pretham as well. “It is a totally different film with a proper narrative, unlike Avasavyuham, which had a cohesive philosophy, form and content. Some may find nothing new in this film. It has a post-modern narrative within the cinematic framework, with the whole thing designed in a fun way,” he avers.

Reflecting on his filmmaking style that has been widely appreicated, Krishand points out that “basically I design the content of my movies”, which has to do with his background in communication design. He has done his Master of Design in Visual Communication from IIT Bombay. “When you get a material, you have to come up with a medium to package that and it is designed for the end user,” he says.

Although he had planned to release the film in theatres, Krishand says the plan was dropped when the OTT deal came through. “It was a sure-shot thing. Actually, I am not a Friday person. For me, it is about desirability, viability and feasibility, something which we relate to design,” he says.

Krishand with Prasanth Alexander on the location of Purusha Pretham
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Currently an adjunct professor at IIT Bombay, Krishand says that he wanted to become a director after reading a book on the films Forest Gump and Apocalypse Now at the British Library in Thiruvananthapuram, his home town. And since he grew up on graphic novels and had a flair to draw, he wanted to become a graphic novelist eventually. Later on, he fell in love with cinema and started watching all kinds of movies. He, however, given his love for drawing, has drawn the scenes for Purusha Pretham as well.

Krishand has also done the cinematography for the movie shot in and around Ernakulam district. Music has been a strong point of his movies. “I have a vision for the music I want in my films. This film has six songs composed by Ajmal Hasbullah and Malayalam rap is the highlight this time. I really want to compose someday but I know I don’t have that in me!” he chuckles.

Meanwhile, his next project will go on the floors within a few months. “I did get offers to make a movie like Avasavyuham. It is not possible but I can definitely work on a similar narrative style. However, at the end of any discussion, producers often ask me if there is something simple! I tell them, the story is simple but it gets complicated when the visual communication elements come in. For the time being, I plan to work like this instead of going for safe cinema,” he says.