It’s the story of a firearm. Yes, you heard it right - the hero of G N Krishnakumar’s ‘Kaanchi’ is not any actor in its cast list, but an avenging revolver. “It’s a tale of vendetta. In other words, it’s all about a handgun searching for someone to pull its trigger. The revolver has more reel time than any lead actor,” says the director. ‘Kaanchi’, built on a couple of parallel tracks, has its script by Jeyamohan and going by its promos the film promises to be an edge-of-the-seat entertainer. “The film has several storylines, but the lead character of the central track is a revolver. All other actors are supporting pieces who help the narrative evolve.”
‘Kaanchi’ is not a film for action junkies who expect lots of muscle-flexing and somersaulting on screen. The director says though the film is high on curiosity quotient, it’s not an out-and-out thriller. “There is less action and more drama in the film. All the thrills and chills are woven around our hero.” Does that mean we get to see an animated handgun going off on its own? “Not really, it’s a real-life story and we have used an original revolver for the film. There is very little graphics,” says Krishnakumar.
‘Kaanchi’ has Indrajith playing Madhavan, a villager who runs a grocery shop and keeps to himself most of the times. His life takes a sudden turn following an unexpected incident and within no time he is dragged into the centre of a soaring turmoil. Murali Gopi appears on screen as Peringodan Narayanan, a landlord with shades of grey. “But he is not the typical antihero either, this will be a surprisingly different role,” says the director. C I Mathew, another key character, is played by Sudheer Karamana while Archana Gupta, Joy Mathew, Shine Tom Chacko, P Balachandran and Sathar are also part of the cast.
The film is set in rural Palakkad and the director says the story will lose its punch in a city ambiance. “A pistol is completely commonplace in a metro and the air of fear it evokes in a village will be lost if we shift the location. It’s a single-location film and no shot was taken outside of it.”
Krishnakumar says the USP of ‘Kaanchi’ is its brilliant script penned by Jeyamohan. “This will be his first mainstream Malayalam film exclusively aimed at the mass audience. He is someone who knows the pulse of audience and the dialogues and situations in the film are not something you are familiar with. At the same time it doesn’t have any Kollywood flavour,” adds the director.
The film produced by Haneef Muhammed under the banner of Red Rose Creations hits the screens this Friday.