A riveting journey, some unexpected encounters and a nail-biting finale - Sunil Karayattukara’s Pakida is more of a traveller’s diary full of surprises. The film penned by Sreejith N and Rajesh Rajendran revolves around an eventful trip undertaken by two strangers - Adi and George Koshy Anthraper. “Though the storyline is woven around a journey, it’s not a typical road movie, travel is just a part of it,” says Sreejith. Asif Ali and Biju Menon play the lead characters Adi and Anthraper in the film.
Adi is an engineering graduate from a lower middle class family. Though he has a degree in automobile engineering, he is still on the lookout for a job. “He has a strong friend circle and most of the times he is with his gang. He leads a kind of anarchic life,” says Sreejith.
On the other hand George Koshy Anthraper is a man with an aura of mystery. “He is above fifty with a slightly crippled leg who uses crutches to walk. The film tries to find out the secret behind Anthraper’s entry. Till the end nobody knows what exactly is his destination,” says Sreejith. The narrative takes a dramatic turn when he joins Adi as they travel via Kumili and Kambam to reach Rameswaram. “On the road they meet some other characters who in turn influence their plans,” he adds.
A mysterious man and a trip through rough terrains - does that mean Pakida is an out-and-out thriller? “Though the storyline sounds like a thriller I would call it a youthful entertainer full of humour and vibrancy. Most of the sequences are funny and there is always an undercurrent of celebration, but with Anthraper’s arrival the mood and tempo changes,” he says.
Another specialty of the film is the presence of Renji Panicker on screen. “The director-scenarist is back to acting after a long gap of 18 years. He plays Nandakumar, a journalist in the film. Though his character is more of an extended cameo, he brings about a turning point in the narrative,” he adds.
Since Pakida follows it lead characters on their puzzling journey, it has been shot at a spate of beautiful locations. “Apart from Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi, a major portion of the film has been canned in and around Madurai. Another interesting location is Bodimettu, near Theni. It’s a visually rich film as it pans through many unfamiliar terrains. Moreover, from the Kerala monsoon we went straight to the acrid climate of Madurai and then to the misty Bodimettu. So Pakida will be a different visual experience altogether,” he says.
Other than the lead actors the film also stars Shine Tom Chacko, Malavika Nair, P Balachandran, Aju Varghese, Vishnu, Anjo Jose, Apurva and Shobha Mohan. The film produced by Sagar Shereef and Kartha Seagulf is expected to hit screens by October.