When Sameer Tahir was in college, he worked as a wedding cameraman and stills photographer to earn some pocket money. He even set up a small studio in Kochi along with a friend. Cinema never featured in his priority list despite being an avid movie buff. “In Maharajas College, my only exposure to cinema was limited to my friends,” says Sameer.
Luckily for him, friends Rajiv P and Amal Neerad later ventured into cinematography. Sameer worked with Neerad as his assistant cameraman in many Ram Gopal Varma films (‘James’, ‘Shiva’, ‘Darna Zaroori Hai’), but his biggest break turned out to be the former’s debut directorial venture, ‘Big B’ starring Mammootty.
“I could not get a bigger opportunity than that,” says Sameer. “It was the first time in South Indian cinema that the super-16 format was used, though it is a common feature today.” Later, he did camera work for yet another Mammootty-starrer, ‘Daddy Cool’. Meanwhile, Sameer has just written his first script for his debut directorial venture ‘Chappa Kurisu’ that figuratively means head and tail. “It is about two diametrically opposite characters who never see each other, but are strangely connected in a way,” he says. “It talks about infidelity, passion and love in current times. It is a youth film with a strong social relevance.”
As for the choice between art and commercial cinema, Sameer maintains that ultimately cinema is all about showbiz.
Another debutant director Pramod Payyanur’s film will probably take another five months to go on the floors, but it is already under the scanner. ‘Balyakala Sakhi’ is an adaptation of a famous novel of the same name by Vaikkom Muhammad Basheer. Second, the epic role of Majeed is being played by Mammootty. Also, a few immortal songs from the early 1950s have already been recorded. But for Pramod, it is all about making a film in the backdrop of a familiar cultural milieu and framing the work of a legendry writer.
Pramod is already a well-known name in theatre and TV, having won numerous state and National Awards. The first short film that won the National Award, ‘Ente Thangam’, is also based on Basheer’s work. “I have consciously tried to base all my plays, short films and telefilms on famous literary works. This is because Kerala has produced some of the finest literary works in the country.”
Pramod’s biggest break came when he got a chance to direct M T Vasudevan Nair’s ‘Randamoozham’ on stage, with Mammootty in the role of Bheema. “That set the ball rolling for my film career and I had Mammootty in mind all along for the role of Majeed,” he says. “It is set against the backdrop of Partition, with the love story of Majeed and Suhara weaved in.”
Today, he works as a programme head on the newly launched Reporter Channel. A self-confessed fan of Bharatan and Padmarajan, his idea of good cinema is not “plain academics, but an entertainer with a socially relevant theme”.