“‘Ee Adutha Kaalathu’ is for those who turn to cinema to not only satiate their hunger for a creative expression but to relish it,” says multifaceted Murali Gopy. Writer, new media journalist, actor and scenarist Murali has come a long way since his debut as an actor and script writer of ‘Rasikan’, released in 2004.
Critics cannot stop raving about ‘Ee Adutha Kaalathu’s sharp plot, crisp narration, outstanding performances, and most importantly the intelligent treatment given to the film.
The well-crafted script goes beyond the known realms of Malayalam cinema, is spread across genres, and brings out a realistic situation being dealt with most truthful human expressions and innermost emotions.
“Sincerity is my genre. My writing showcases a slice of life as I see it. The only attempt was in adding some entertainment value to it and the challenge was to make it look and feel as real as possible. The characters depicted in the film have been treated as real people with their set of virtues and vices. I was clear about not including any created situation. All the situations and characters had to fall in place as they would in real life,” says Murali.
This is evident in the way the three parallel narrations converge into one with utmost ease. It only feels natural for the characters to come together in the second half of the film. Neither a single frame was wasted on irrelevant pieces of information nor do we miss any of the small details that bind the narration together with no actual presence on the surface.
On the mention of the new trend of parallel narration in Malayalam cinema, Murali quips, “I wrote this script four years back and parallel narration was not what I was working towards. Cinema in itself has a non-linear narrative. I am against jargon,” adds Murali, whose professional life includes both, being the entertainer and well as the audience.
When asked about the influence of the journalist on the scenarist-self, he says, “Today, we are bombarded with information from all quarters, at all times. One has to be like a litmus paper that absorbs and reflects the external influences. The kind of exposure I get as a journalist has certainly found way into my thought process and keeps coming to the surface now and then. If not filtered well, such length of information will only litter you.”
Murali’s skill of looking at a picture as a whole is clearly visible in an unbiased introduction to the city the film is based in. If a quick frame shows a lazy early morning then the very next would be the hustle and bustle of the office-goers; if there is a throbbing nightlife in one part of the city then there is a quiet sleepy locality somewhere else in the city.
“Nothing unreal has been shown in the film to create an impression. The film shows Thiruvananthapuram the way it is. If there are clean busy roads in Thiruvananthapuram then there are also large piles of unattended garbage in the same city. Even the establishments shown in the film are how they look to the commoners,” he says.
The script reflects delicate handling of taboo topics like relationships of convenience, sex and sexual incompetency and topical references to influx of migrant labourers, influence of internet on children, cyber sex rackets etc.
However, the film is not as simple as the plain portrayal of daily life. Inspired from the complexity of the Rubik’s Cube, the fine-tuned script puts forth the chaos of the web of life and beautifully layers the shades of human nature and behaviour. Murali says, “Nobody is a hundred per cent of their self at any point of time. People are different in accordance with places and the individuals they connect with. What one gets to see of a person at a point of time is only a fraction of a whole.”
And, this acts like the omnipresent line of thought throughout the three-hour-long movie. The screenplay successfully manages to dig out the strengths, weaknesses and deepest fears of each character, entangled with the decisions and destinies of the protagonists.
“My style of writing is such that I let my characters be and speak for themselves.” Murali Gopy, who also played the role of Ajay Kurien, a frustrated husband going through mid-life crisis, in ‘Ee Adathu..’ says “Whatever the character, it is always larger than life and is a respectful entity for me. I have very high regards for the character I play and treat it as an individual with his own approach to things. I let the character free from inhibitions and limitations. I only follow and imbibe the traits.”
There is no turning back for Murali Gopy who is all set to treat the audience with two more projects with the director of ‘Ee Adutha Kaalathu’, Arun Kumar Aravind.
Currently, working on the screenplay, Murali says, ”Next in line are two entertainers of different formats. They will be movies on subjects that have not been brought up on the screen yet.” Juggling with new offers to write scripts and act, Murali is going with the stride. Also, he will be soon seen with Mammootty in director Johnny Antony’s upcoming film ‘Thapaana.’