Two handsome hunks and a pretty girl and you thought it would be another time-worn love triangle? Well, Lal Jose’s latest outing ‘Vikramadithyan’ is anything but the apparent. “The film is basically a family drama, not a rom-com or action thriller,” says Iqbal Kuttipuram, the scenarist of the film.
‘Vikramadithyan’ is the story of two youngsters who share a strange rapport. “We can call them sworn enemies who are best friends and this unlikeliest bond forms the crux of the storyline,” says Iqbal. Vikraman and Adithyan are engaged in a race to outsmart each other from the day they were born. The film starts in the late 1980s when Vasudeva Shenoy, a police officer falls for Lakshmi. But she marries Kunjunni, a thief, and eventually Shenoy also marries. They become fathers on the same day and the kids grow up in the same street and study in the same school. “Vikraman, the son of Shenoy, is a very focused and systematic boy while Adithyan is more anarchic and undisciplined. But at one point they start pursuing the same goal and what follows forms the core narrative of ‘Vikramadithyan’,” he adds. While Dulqaur Salman plays Adithyan, Unni Mukundan appears on screen as Vikraman.
Dulquar, as the angry young Adithyan, sheds his suave-and-sober image for the film. “It will be a memorable role in his filmography,” says Iqbal. Namitha Pramod plays Deepika, their childhood companion, who bonds with them both. “There is no love triangle as they are totally clear about their relationship with each other,” he adds. Apart from the lead actors Anoop Menon, Joy Mathew, Lena, Santosh Kumar, Saddiq and Siddharth Shiva are also part of the cast.
Jomon T John cranks the camera for the film set in Fort Kochi and Mattanchery for its specific Konkani flavour. “He’s known for his fresh and innovative frames, something we needed badly for ‘Vikramadithyan’. Lot of films have been shot in and around these places and we wanted visuals that wouldn’t remind the audience of other films. Fort Kochi is a melting pot of cultures and you will find people with various nationalities living there. Turning the familiar topography into something fresh-yet-original was a real challenge,” he adds.
Iqbal says though the film has been sprinkled with humour, its not a forthright comedy. “The film is high on drama, at the same time it never stoops to the level of sleazy melodrama.” He adds that it will be a film bristling with youthful energy, filling the audience with a positive spirit by the time they walk out of the theatre.
“I wouldn’t call it a message movie, but the kind of film that leaves a lingering sweetness. Both Lal Jose and I are positive thinkers and our philosophy of life is certainly reflected in the film,” he adds.