An irresistible cast, a simple, uncluttered plot and a hitmaker at the helm – it sure has all the fireworks you expect of a festival film. But, as per the director, Ennum Eppozhum is not all about the feel-good quotient, it also marks a return to the endearing format of the late 80s. “This film has an innate goodness about it. I truly believe that good cinema will survive all odds just like virtue triumphing at the end. It has been like that forever and the title points to that basic fact,” he says.
The film, a ‘family entertainer with little melodrama and more humour’ as he puts it, stars Mohanlal and Manju Warrier in the lead. Mohanlal plays Vineeth N Pillai, a bored scribe who has been working for a family magazine for the past twenty years. “Kalyani, the new editor-in-chief, decides to revamp the whole system and get rid of the old staff. In order to sack Vineeth he is assigned with the touch task of interviewing Deepa, an advocate-cum-activist. She evades all his attempts and the film chronicles how he goes about accomplishing the challenge,” he says. Manju Warrier steps into the role of Deepa while Reenu Mathews plays Kalyani on screen.
Sathyan Anthikad says ‘Ennum Eppozhum’ has the same pattern as ever-popular Gandhinagar 2nd Street and Sanmanasullavarkku Samadhanam’. “If Sanmanasullavarkku Samadhanam is all about evacuating a rented a house this film revolves around getting an interview. Here the hero has no larger-than-life aura, he is just a commoner you can easily relate to. Both Mohanlal’s and Manju’s characters are pleasant and realistic ones.”
The director says Mohanlal and Manju Warrier are the most flexible actors he has seen, subtle and spontaneous to a T. “I have worked with both the actors in the past, but it’s my first film that features them together.” He adds Vineeth is a character totally in sync with the quirks and mannerisms of Mohanlal. “As a filmmaker who has had a long association with the actor I can assure one thing - you will encounter the old, adorable Lal in this film. Vineeth will remind you of his characters in Nadodikkattu and T P Balagopalan MA. Similarly, the film has some of Manju’s career best moments,” he says.
‘Ennum Eppozhum’ also has in store all the elements one easily associates with a Sathyan Anthikad film. “My films always delve into the middle-class life and this makes no exception. The only difference here is the backdrop, this time the story is set in a bustling city,” he says.
Another specialty of the film is that you will not find any Anthikad regulars in the cast except for Innocent. “Yes, faces like Mamukoya and KPAC Lalita are missing this time. But I have incorporated a handful of new actors including some talented theatre artists which adds to the freshness of the film,” says Anthikad. The film has its screenplay penned by Ranjan Pramod based on a story by actor Raveendran. Vidyasagar has scored the music while Neil D’Cunha has cranked the camera. The film produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas will hit the screens next week.
Raveendran, who has penned the story of ‘Ennum Eppozhum’, says Vineeth and Deepa are characters tailor-made for Mohanlal and Manju Warrier. “The project was hanging around for a while and the makers were looking for an apt story. It was a real challenge to come up with an engaging story that leaves equal space for the performances of the lead actors,” he says. He adds that the film will have a new pattern of visual story telling and the plot is not something cliched. “It’s not a romantic film, but a tale that develops through a string of humourous situations.”