It was an emotional reunion. The ‘pooja’ function of the remake of ‘Rathinirvedam’ held in the city on Friday brought together the better-halves of the three big names behind the original film that came out in 1978 - Radhalakshmi, wife of P Padmarajan, who wrote the movie; KPAC Lalitha, wife of Bharathan, who directed the film, and Rajamma, wife of Hari Pothen, who produced the original under the banner Supriya Films. This coming-of-age film narrated the obsessive love of an adolescent for an older woman, with Jayabharathi and Krishnachandran playing the lead roles. ‘Rathinirvedam’ is being remade by director T K Rajeev Kumar and will be produced by Suresh Kumar for Revathy Kalaamandhir.
As Suresh Kumar and Rajeev Kumar shared their thoughts on the Bharathan-Padmarajan-Hari Pothen trio, it touched one and all present. Rajeev Kumar himself broke down while speaking about Padmarajan. “It so happened that Padmarajan and I happened to work on two films with the same feel. And when I decided to drop my subject, Pappettan (Padmarajan) was so moved that he told me that he would write a script for me. That itself was an honour for me,” said an emotional Rajeev Kumar.
While Radhalakshmi tried to hold back her tears, Lalitha remembered that it was the movie which brought her close to Bharathan. “The location Nelliyampathy and the people who associated with the film have had a huge impact on my life,” Lalitha said.
Krishnachandran and cameraman Ramachandra Babu, two names associated with the original, were present at the function. Family members of Hari Pothen; Sidharth, Bharathan’s son, and Ananthapadmanabhan, Padmarajan’s son, were also present.
“We are not claiming this will be a different movie. The script will be same, but for some minor changes. The only difference is that the film will have a different feel to it with regard to its backdrop,” said Suresh Kumar. The new version will have Shwetha Menon playing the female lead. The male lead has not been finalised yet. The shooting will commence in January.
trivandrum@expressbuzz.com