Faith has always been a moot point in our society with diverse dogmas adding to religious ambiguity. Many films have been made with religious and political ideologies as a backdrop. Director Babu Janardanan is up with his new outing, God For Sale that is about the eventful life of a youngster who alters his loyalties based on unexpected twists and turns in his life. The film which is all set to hit the screens this Friday will see Kunchakko Boban in a couple of challenging avatars: that of a political activist, an affluent man, an alcoholic, a preacher at a retreat centre, and ultimately a demigod.
Babu Janardanan, who has written the script and screenplay of the film says, “God For Sale is a satirical take on what all determines the faith of a person. The film opens with the arrest of Poornananda Swami who is alleged of child sacrifice. His story is unveiled through versions put forth by the accused and his brother (played by Suraj Venjaramood).”
The plot of the movie passes through several periods of time. In the flashback, there is the seventies, when ‘kathaprasangam’ performed by V Sambasivan was a rage in the Northern part of Kerala. “We have recreated that period with utmost care in the film, especially the settings of the art form that is on a wane now. Kathaprasangam which had much prominence during that period, plays a pivotal role in the film,” says the director.
Attinkal village is home to Kamalasanan Pillai, a tailor. Suraj dons that role, too. One fine morning, after a Kathaprasangam performance, Pillai was found dead under suspicious circumstances. From there, the plot shifts to a more contemporary period. Prasannan (Kunchakko Boban), son of Kamalasanan Pillai, is now a hardworking daily wages labourer, who has a lady love, (played by Jyothi Krishna). Again, the backdrop changes, and the protagonist is seen as a brilliant law student in a famous college.
The character of a person, along with his faiths, are shaped by his childhood experiences, says the director. “Prasannan confronts some bitter truths in his early life that alters his personality. When he joins the college, he is attracted to Leftist thinking. Later he falls in love with a rich woman, and eventually turns into an affluent person, and an emotional downfall turns him into an alcoholic. The journey of Prasannan from there to the retreat centre and ultimately to a person who claims to be the avatar of God is the storyline of the film,” says Babu Janardanan.
“We live in a period when people change their faiths too often, and that prompted me to think of the reason behind it,” he says. “Kunchakko Boban’s role and acting is the main highlight of the film. He has never done such a challenging role before. Suraj who appears in a double role has also performed well. Since the first schedule of the film was taken last year, Thilakan appears in an important scene, which is another attraction of the film,” says the director. Thilakan, Tini Tom and Anumol also feature in the film. Afsal Yusuf who was the music director of Bombay March 12 joins hand with the director again for the film. There are four songs sung by P Jayachandram, Mridhula Warrior, Arun Sachidanandan and Kannur Salim. The major locales of the film were Government Engineering College, Thrissur and Vadakkencherry.