Actor and screenwriter Sajitha Madathil has penned the script for Aanu (English: Yes), a new Sidhartha Siva directorial set to be showcased in the Malayalam Cinema Today section in the 27th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
Sajitha and Namitha Pramod are the two principal actors around whom the film revolves. The former plays a baker leading a solitary existence and running an independent business; the latter is a woman who enters her life unexpectedly and becomes employed as her assistant.
In a conversation with Cinema Express, Sajitha, a Kerala State award-winning actor, says, “This is a woman whose sole focus has been her life. Every day she builds her up, and she never deviates from her work: it always remains constant even when dealing with conflict or engaged in conversations with the other woman. It reaches a point where the former has to confront an unpleasant memory from her past during these conversations. They realise they share a common factor.”
The idea for Aanu, which recently won the Padmarajan award, came to Sajitha during the pandemic. “At the time, I was envisioning the idea for a play with two women, and then Sidhu (Sidhartha Siva) happened to hear the story and suggested turning it into a film instead,” she recalls.
The film got cleared by the censors in December 2021.
Speaking about the film’s narrative style, Sajitha shares, “Since this is a story with a theatrical behaviour, Sidhu has retained that quality. It’s also possible to do it without that approach, but he was particular about treating it as though it were a play. I don’t believe we had films of this format in Malayalam, and it’s an interesting watch if perceived that way. The entire setting is minimalist—a typical rented house; it’s not a set with unnecessary embellishments—and the conversations of these two characters happen within its confines.”
Aside from Sajitha and Namitha, the film has supporting appearances from Sudheesh and Asha Aravind.
Produced by Rakesh Bahuleyan and Sidhartha Siva, Aanu’s technical crew has cinematographer Vishnu Narayanan, editor Shameer Muhammed, composer Manjari, and sound designer Naithik.