Rather than staying in the comfort zone of cliches and playing it safe, Rajeev Ravi believes in brave deviations. If he could concoct a rare blend of love, loss and longing in Annayum Resulum, his second film, Njan Steve Lopez, seems to be more of a personal odyssey. “Njan Steve Lopez doesn’t quite fit into any category but has the traits of a biopic. It’s about a teenager and a random incident that derails his life,” says the director.
Farhaan Fazil, younger brother of Fahad Fazil, steps into the shoes of 19-year-old Steve Lopez, making his screen debut. “It’s a realistic film inspired from real-life stories and, yes, it’s for each and every teen around us,” Rajeev adds. Though the makers are tight-lipped about the storyline, they insist it’s something everyone can easily relate to. “Njan Steve Lopez is about a generation who loses all faith and hope at certain junctures of life. This is something that can happen at any corner of the globe,” says Santhosh Echikkanam, scenarist. Ahaana Krishna, another newbie, is paired opposite Farhaan in the film.
He says though the narrative is set against the backdrop of a police quarters Njan Steve Lopez not a cop story or crime drama. “But at the same time it zooms into the personal and professional lives of police officers. We always call the new generation irresponsible and believe that they lack proper civic sense. But this reading can be far from real and the film tries to sketch an unbiased picture,” says Santhosh.
If Annayum Resulum celebrated the signature sights and sounds of Kochi, the city of Thiruvananthapuram comes alive in Njan Steve Lopez. Santhosh says both the films portray the cities in their real colours without going for anything fancy or fictional. “There are many films that connects Kochi with just one aspect - crime. But in reality what you have there is a cultural potpourri, you will find specific slangs, cuisines and music that define the geographic entity. At the same time the place has an underbelly and in Annayum Resulum we tried to present the place as it is without exaggerating or undermining its combined identity. When it comes to Thiruvanathapuram the growing criminality is a fact we can’t escape,” he says.
With a crop of new faces in lead and supporting roles, Njan Steve Lopez hardly has any stars in it. “Steve is a youngster in his late teens. Rather than picking a known face and then giving him a younger makeover I went for fresh faces who fit in,” says Rajeev. Other than the lead actors the film has a spate of theatre artists and random locals in its cast list. “The film features some brilliant stage artists who were denied any space in the screen so far. Then some of the actors were found among the mob and were cast even without any auditions,” adds Santhosh about the film that also stars Alancier, Sujith Shankar, James Elia, Mini K S, Chinnu Kuruvila and Vinayakan.
Njan Steve Lopez hits the screens this Friday.