We all know that the Sunny Wayne-starrer Pokkiri Simon: Oru Kadutha Aaradhakan has gone on the floors. The movie, directed by Jijo Antony, has Sunny Wayne starring as a hard-core Vijay fan.
Scriptwriter K Ambady (an Indian Information Service officer) says the Vijay fans of Thiruvananthapuram inspired him to pen the story. “During official work, I happened to meet a few of them. I was enticed by their manners and devotion to their favourite star, who is not even a Malayali.
Then I created a character who happens to be a Vijay fan. Initially, it was for another movie. But, then the producer thought it would be an interesting subject. That’s how we developed this into a whole movie,” says Ambady.
The crew went to the re-screening of the Vijay hit movie, Pokkiri, in Thiruvananthapuram to get the real feel of the Vijay fans.
“There are over 500 groups of Vijay fans in the capital. However, our story revolves around only five such groups. In fact, we were surprised to see their devotion and selfless love for the actor. They dress like Vijay’s characters and imitate his mannerisms. We have drawn inspiration from their lives for the movie,” says Ambady.
Not just Sunny Wayne’s character, most of the other characters have been inspired from real-life.
“There are people like Love Today Ganesh. Actually, there is a man whose nickname is Love Today Srikanth in Thiruvananthapuram. We also have a rival team comprising Surya fans in the movie,” says Ambady.
According to him, Pokkiri Simon is an out-and-out entertainer. “It depicts the day-to-day life and hardships of a Vijay fan. We aim to give the idea that they are the real heroes,” he adds.
The movie is being shot at Chengalchoola in Thiruvananthapuram. “We have re-painted an entire street at Chengalchoola for the shooting. It has been renamed as Ilayadalapathi Nagar,” he adds.
Pokkiri Simon: Oru Kadutha Aaradhakan has Nedumudi Venu, Shammi Thilakan, Dileesh Pothan and Sarath (Angamaly Diaries fame) in important roles.