Evening 5 pm and the Napier museum compound is buzzing with activity. A Toyota Innova comes to a screeching halt and out comes Dileep in track suit and sports shoes. Very soon the actor is mobbed by fans requesting him for autographs and selfies. Very soon Namitha Pramod arrives and the actors start shooting for Chandrettan Evideya?, Sidharth Bharatan’s second directorial venture after ‘Nidra’.
The film, which started rolling in the city last week, narrates the life of a common man who enjoys spending time with his friends. “The movie revolves around the life of Chandramohan essayed by Dileepettan. He is working in the Petition section of Kerala Legislative Assembly. He is married and his wife, a character played by Anushree, is in Thrissur as she works at BSNL there. Once out of office Chandramohan loves to be in the company of his three friends,” says Sidharth.
Meanwhile, upon his instructions cinematographer Shyju Khalid starts setting the camera. “We are taking a jogging sequence with Soubin Shahir and some junior artists. He plays the role of Sumesh, Chandran’s friend-cum-colleague. The other friends are Sekharan, a freelance journalist and Narayanan Ilayath, a celebrity astrologer. Mukesh and Suraj Venjaramood plays those characters respectively,” Sidhrath says and runs towards Shyju to check the frame adding that they have to capture two more scenes within one hour.
Sameer Thahir, noted cinematographer and director, was there as the second unit cinematographer. He is also the co-producer of the movie with Shyju Khalid and Ashiq Usman, producing the film under the banner of Handmade Films.“Last year Sidhu came to us with a short story by Santhosh Echikanam, saying that he wanted to develop it as a film. I read that and discussed with the rest two. They also liked the idea. That’s how we decided to produce the movie under the new banner with the screenplay of Echikanam himself,” says Sameer who earlier produced his ‘Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi’ under the banner of ‘Happy Hours Entertainments’.
While quizzed about his role as producer, Sameer, who was the DOP of Sidharth’s debut venture, says as a producer he is inovlved in all stages of making from the pre-production to the releasing stage. “Though I am one of the producers, I will be behind the camera as a second unit cameraman during the multi-camera shots,” says Sameer. Ashiq Usman, the third man behind the Hand Made Films was also present at the location. “It is a team effort of a group of friends. Sameer and I have been discussiong about various film projects during the past three years. But it was only last year that we zeroed in on this film,” says Ashiq, who earlier produced Arikil Oral and Happy Journey.