Three characters and their journey of self-discovery as each battle through myriad emotions is what sets the pace of this thriller. But what brings them together is an incident of the past and there begins ‘Cocktail’.
With a right mixture of drama and suspense, the film promises to be a refreshing break from the usual run-of-the-mill flicks. Directed by Arun Kumar, a renowned film editor who has worked with Priyadarshan in more than 19 movies such as ‘Billu Barber’, ‘Garam Masala’ and the critically acclaimed ‘Kanjeevaram’, ‘Cocktail’ has Jayasurya, Anoop Menon and Samvrutha Sunil in the lead roles.
Anoop Menon plays the role of Ravi Abraham, CEO of an MNC, and Samvrutha is Parvathy Abraham, a modern-day housewife. Jayasurya, on the other hand, plays a nameless character in the movie.
“In the entire movie Jayasurya’s character is never addressed by a name. But his character is something that all can relate to. It represents a number of other characters.”
But what sets this movie apart from the rest is its treatment, says Arun. “‘Cocktail’ is a road movie which revolves around the lives of three characters on a journey.” Because the movie is set in an urban milieu the cast has also been given a modern look. “You will see Samvrutha as an urban mother and therefore her styling has been done differently.”
This Thiruvananthapuram-based director is a well-known name in the Bollywood circle, but he is not an alien to the Malayalam film industry. Arun, who has a strong base in visual effects, started off in the industry as a promo editor with director TK Rajeev Kumar. From there he got an opportunity to work in Suresh Krishna’s ‘Vasanthamalika’ in 2003. But the turning point in his career was when he was introduced to Priyadarshan in 2003.
His first Bollywood flick was ‘Hulchul’ and from there began a long list of successful projects, which got him nominated for the National Award as well as the V Santaram Award. Arun’s transformation from an editor to a director has been easy because of his long stint in the industry as a non-linear editor.
“Every editor is a director at heart and vice-versa. So donning the director’s cap wasn’t that big a problem.” But with the current situation prevailing in the Malayalam film industry, making a movie and bringing in all the elements together was a bit difficult. “It requires a lot of luck and a correct grip on situations,” Arun feels.
Speaking about the film-making scene in Kerala, he says that there are a lot of talented directors in the state. But they compromise on the script to meet the demands of the producers. Following the herd mentality is what deteriorates the standard of filmmaking in our state.
“If one movie becomes a hit then all the producers want to follow that pattern. A producer should think about business, but at the same time he should have a knowledge about movies too.”
Having had a taste of both worlds, which is better, Bollywood or Mollywood?
“Technically Bollywood is stronger. But even if they take another 10 years they won’t be able to make the kind of movies we have had in the 90s. Also they don’t have that kind of character artistes that we can boast of,” Arun says.
However, he feels that our seasoned actors should stop repeating the kind of roles they are doing and try something new, which will bring out the actor in them. Arun’s future project includes another untitled film that is still in its scripting stage.