THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Director Vinu Kolichal's Bilathikuzhal deals with two phases of a man's life- childhood and old age. The film, which debuted in the Malayalam Cinema section at IFFK (International Film Festival of Kerala), is driven on man's obsession.
"The protagonist Kunhambu's childhood has more fantasy and fiction. As he grows older and mature in the film, the treatment towards the protagonist in the movie becomes mature and non-dramatic," said Vinu. The film, according to him, portrays the good old village life, songs, food and landscapes.
The film was shot at Kasaragod, Vinu's birthplace. The slang and the tone used in the film is quite difficult to follow. Kunhambu, during his childhood years, is obsessed over an English Barrel Gun owned by his neighbour Chindan Muthappan. "For young Kunhambu, Muthappan receives respect and power because of the gun. Fuelling his belief, Kunhambu's grandmother regales him with stories of the gun owned by Muthappan. Kunhambu keeps seeing Muthappan in his dreams and becomes his fantasy superhero," said Vinu.
According to the director, Bilathikuzhal refers to a British/English Gun. Bilathi means British and Kuzhal means Gun. Even though the film is slow paced and drags in certain areas, it makes up with the natural acting, realistic portrayal of characters and beauty of locations contributed to keeping the film satisfactory. "The aged 'Kunhambu' reaches a phase of life where he has feels he needs to do something worthy. There he chooses to stick to the English Barrel Gun and thereby attain attention and acceptability from the villagers. Few scenes are hyper-realistic as it was essential for the film," said Vinu.
Bilathikuzhal does not fit into any particular genre and is not centred on a single thought or interpretation. "The film is flexible and the viewer can interpret the content, characters, dialogues, visuals in any way they want to. I am so happy that I have received space for three screenings at the IFFK. The theatres were almost 80 per cent full. I have been visiting IFFK venues since 2013 and this year they have given much importance to film contents than the festival mood, which is appreciable," said Vinu. The director is currently working on his new film which will be announced next year.