The premiere of the upcoming Malayalam fantasy drama Achappa's Album, held in Kochi on Tuesday, turned into a celebration of family values and nostalgia. Produced by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), the film is set to hit the screens on April 24. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Deepti Pillay Sivan, who made her entry into cinema as a child actor in Kalippattam as Mohanlal and Urvashi’s daughter.
Achappa's Album centres on Rishi, nicknamed Appu, a 14-year-old boy living with two busy working parents and a beloved old family retainer from his father's village home. Rishi is the kind of boy whose pranks keep his school principal busy, and his parents perpetually exasperated. One day, he stumbles upon his grandfather's box of magic and an old album that sets him off on an unexpected journey through time, leading him to question who his short-tempered father Kuttan really is, and the boy Kuttan once was. Marathi actor Aadinath Kothare plays Kuttan, while veteran Marathi actor Mohan Agashe plays the titular Achappa, the grandfather whose presence gives the film its sense of wonder.
The cast also includes Priyanka Nair as Rishi's mother, alongside Anjana Appukuttan as Kuttan's mother in different timelines. Rishi is played by Sidhanshu Sanjeev Sivan, the son of Deepti and the film's co-writer Sanjeev Sivan. He also plays the younger version of Kuttan in the 1980s. Alongside Sanjeev, the screenplay is jointly written by Anirban Bhattacharya and Umesh Nair.
Speaking at the premiere, Deepti explains that the emotional core of the story emerges from her own family life. "I have three sons, and the idea comes from my own home," she shares. "It is not easy bringing up three boys. I often tell them to learn from their father. I want my children to have the same value system." She adds that the story also feels universal: "When we are young, we rarely understand our parents. But when we marry and have children of our own, we finally understand them."
With many films today driven by speed and spectacle, Deepti notes that Achappa's Album focuses instead on emotional connection. "The real issue today is not devices like phones or iPads. The real issue is communication," she observes. "Earlier, 25 people would watch one small television together. Today, one person watches a huge television alone. If there is transparency and communication, many issues can be solved."
NFDC Managing Director Prakash Magdum underscores the corporation's commitment to backing such work, noting that this year marks NFDC's golden jubilee. "There are very few children's films being made today, which makes it even more important that we support such a film," he remarks.
Priyanka, best known for her Tamil debut Veyil and the State Award-winning portrayal in the Malayalam film Vilapangalkkappuram, shares that she connected with Achappa's Album instantly. "I am a mother, and many of the situations feel exactly like what happens in my own house," she says. Born in the 1980s, she finds it natural to inhabit both the older setting and the present-day world the film moves between. "Every generation changes according to its circumstances, but certain values must always be preserved," she reflects, before adding warmly, "Watching Sidhanshu's transformation into two characters makes me very proud."
Sidhanshu speaks candidly about the pressures of playing younger versions of both Rishi and Kuttan across different eras. "At first I was nervous, but after three or four days I got into the characters," he recalls, crediting his acting trainer, parents and the wider creative team for guiding his performance.
Sanjeev, who made his feature directorial debut with the Mammootty-starrer Aparichithan and has helmed numerous documentaries for National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel, has won multiple national and state awards as a producer of children's films. He follows in the footsteps of his father Sivan, whose acclaimed works Johny and Abhayam are award-winning children's features. He feels Achappa's Album's fantasy element is its distinguishing quality. "What attracted me most to this story is the time travel element without gimmicks," he says.