‘Pyali’ is not a children’s film, say directors Babita and Rinn

Pyali marks the directorial debut of husband-wife duo of Babita and Rinn. It tells the story of siblings of Kashmiri origin, Pyali and her elder brother, Ziya, who have made Kerala their home.

The film, which reaches theatres on July 8, is the fulfilment of a dream for Babita and Rinn. The Kochi-based couple admits that the journey had many hurdles along the way. “Finding a producer was the toughest part. Pyali is not a children’s film although we have two children as the protagonists. Producers were reluctant to invest in a project made by debutants, that too featuring children in the main roles. Even in films promoted as children’s movies, there is usually a hero figure who gets an equal screen time. Pyali does not have such a character and we were not ready to include one,” says Rinn.

The couple says it was after their marriage nine years ago that they started thinking about films. Babita used to be an IT professional and Rinn an interior designer. “I had made a short film based on Rinn’s story while working with a company in Infopark. The appreciation I received for the short made me realise that I had it in me to become a filmmaker. I quit my job to focus on films, while Rinn continued to work for some more time,” says Babita. They also made a 23-minute film “to understand the technical aspects of filmmaking.”

Pyali was conceptualised six years ago. Although Rinn had another project in mind as their debut project, the story of Pyali appealed to Babita. “In spite of the difficulties, children who live on the streets have their own ways to celebrate life. Pyali is about such moments, the bond between the siblings and how they face tough situations,” Babita says.

The project is the debut production venture of NF Varghese Pictures, a banner launched in memory of veteran actor, NF Varghese, by his daughter Sofia Varghese. Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films, later, stepped in as co-producer and is also distributing the movie.

“Sofia ma’am’s family has been my client and it was at a family gathering that we told her the story of Pyali. They didn’t have the production banner then. However, a year later she contacted us after launching the production house. We were still looking for a producer then and she was ready to back the project. She told us that it was their way of giving back to Malayalam film industry for having given so much to her father and their family,” explains Rinn.

Winning awards

The film won the Kerala State film awards (2021) for the Best Child Artist (Barbiee Sharma who plays Pyali) and for Art Direction (Santhosh Raman). The awards came as a boon for the duo who were on the look out for a distributor then. “Most of the distributors whom we approached were not even ready to watch the film. It was our art director who suggested that we should bring out a catchy trailer for which we approached one of the leading names, Don Max. He took the initiative to bring Wayfarer Films. Dulquer also saw the movie, loved it and came on board,” says Rinn.

Barbiee Sharma and George Jacob in Pyali
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Barbiee, who plays the titular character, has done several ad films and has acted in movies such as Baaghi 2 and Bharat. “We were finding it difficult to get the right face for the role. That’s when Sophia ma’am showed us her ad film and thus we got our Pyali. Finding Ziya also took time. Finally we got Dubai-based George, who has no experience in acting. He said he didn’t want to let go off the opportunity,” says Babita.

The duo says that working with child actors is no cake walk. “When we started the shoot, Barbiee told me, mujhe sharam aa rahi hai (I am feeling shy)! She is used to doing indoor shoots for ad films. Working with a big crew, that too outdoors, was overwhelming for her. To encourage her, I told her that if she works hard, she might win an award. And she did.”

Also in the cast are Unni Mukundan, Appani Sarath and veterans such as Mamukoya and Sreenivasan.

Even though there is a decline in footfall for small films in theatres, the directors assert that Pyali calls for a theatre experience. “Some of the renowned names are in the crew and we want their work to be experienced on the big screen,” Rinn mentions.

So did they have creative differences while making the film? “We are as different as chalk and cheese. We take it as a challenge to convince each other and often get into arguments as well. That has brought out the best out of this partnership,” Babita says. Rinn adds: “In the case of Pyali, I didn’t have to do much to convince her.”