We had reported last November that Arjun Ashokan and Lal star in SP Chidambaram’s directorial debut Jan-e-Man. The film, which also features Basil Joseph, Balu Varghese, Siddharth Menon, Ganapathy, Abhiram Radhakrishnan and Riya Saira, has completed shooting. The team is aiming to get it released in theatres once they reopen.
A teaser featuring Basil Joseph was released a couple of days back. Chidambaram tells us that every main actor has equal screen space and time in the film. Basil plays a nurse working abroad who experiences a bout of loneliness and yearns to return home. “Basil plays an important character who appears throughout the film. The story gets narrated through him,” says the filmmaker, adding that Jan-e-Man is a fictional “humorous family entertainer” inspired by personal events.
Chidambaram had initially planned to make his directorial debut with a different project but decided to make Jan-e-Man when it appealed to Vikruthi producers Lakshmi Warrier and Ganesh Menon. They are jointly bankrolling the film with Shawn Antony and Sajith Kumar K.
Chidambaram has previously worked as an assistant director under Jayaraj in the films Train and Pakarnattam and an assistant cameraman under Rajeev Ravi and KU Mohanan in films such as Kammattipadam, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, and Aadujeevitham. Jan-e-Man was lensed by debutant Vishnu Thandassery, who previously assisted cinematographers like Sameer Thahir, Shyju Khalid and Amal Neerad.Kiran Das edits the film, while Bijibal worked on the music.