"Do not confine me to any particular genre of films," he quips. And true to these words, B Unnikrishnan who wielded the megaphone for a handful of sleek thrillers, had also penned the script for offbeat movies like ‘Jalamarmaram’. And the same director is now busy calling shots for his new flick, ‘I Love Me’, a relationship drama.
The director says his move is not intentional, and is simply because of his urge not to repeat again. He says, “There had been good and bad times in my film career. There had been both thrilling ups and dejecting downs. I have been involved in all genres from high voltage masala to alternative ones. But the whole point of being involved in cinema is to remain composed whatever comes on the way, and I am glad that I am unaffected by the whole spectrum.”
Contrary to the usual cast that includes superstars, Unnikrishnan’s latest movie includes Asif Ali, Unni Mukundan, Anoop Menon along with Isha Talwar. Naturally the question arouses whether his new movie falls to the new-gen category, to which he retorts back quickly, “Please do not ever call my film a new-gen, which is a flimsy concept. Since I do not believe in such classifications of films, I feel the whole hullabaloo is a rubbish. Youth is all about perspective, not age. Gabriel Garcia Marquez had written classic works even when he was in his seventies, E M S was the chief minister of Kerala when he was middle-aged. So there is no point in such differentiation. There had been experimental films in Malayalam always.”
So, where essentially his movies stand in the block, Unnikrishnan answers with an ideological sternness, “My greatest obligation while doing a film is towards the producers which naturally limits certain aspects. To take movies that stay in tune with my politics is my aspiration. But I can helm such movies only by investing myself. Contrary to several movies released of late that take up controversial subjects, anticipating the global market, I want to make my dream movie with my own money.”
The call sheet of the director is already booked for the next year, too. After ‘I Love Me’ which will be shot in Malaysia, the director will again join hands with Mohanlal next year for ‘Mr Fraud’, a movie about ‘one man with many faces’. The major shooting location of the film is Russia. The shooting of the Hindi version of ‘Grandmaster’ is there on the pipeline. The director also is planning a movie with Anjali Menon, who will pen the script. “The film will have a humorous treatment,” says Unnikrishnan.
About ‘I Love Me’
Elaborating on the title and theme of ‘I Love Me’, Unnikrishnan says, “We always prefer to live in our own cocoon, loving ourselves the most. ‘I Love Me’, through the life of four friends, explores the intensity of our self-centeredness and how essential it is for us to shed such habits away to survive in this society.”
One major speciality of the film is that this is for the first time another script writer is penning for Unnikrishnan. Script of the film is by Sethu (of Sachi-Sethu duo). “Writing is a tedious job for which I have to spare another 8-9 months. Since I felt I can gel well with Sethu, we thought to work together,” says the director.
Along with youngsters like Asif Ali, Unni Mukundan, Anoop Menon and Isha Talwar, actors like Vanitha Krishnachandran, Biju Pappan, Vijayakumar will also be there. Deepak Dev is giving music to the lyrics written by Harinarayanan. Satheesh Kurup cranks the camera.
The film is produced by Vaishaka Rajan under the banner of Vaishaka Cynyma. It is expected to release on December 21.