THIRUVANATHAPURAM: It’s a dream come true for debutant director Shebi Chavakkad. Even as he is looking forward to the response of the audience to his film ‘Plus Two’ , Shebi has landed two more projects. “I’m happy that two films came my way after their makers saw a preview of ‘Plus Two’,” says Shebi, who is keeping his fingers crossed. The film takes the viewer through the pangs and pleasures of teenage years.
Equipped with his experience in the ad field (he worked with V K Prakash in a handful of ads including Rubco and Alukkas) and the small screen (Shebi assisted Adam Ayoob in serials such as ‘Detective Anand’ and ‘Diana’), the youngster decided to take the plunge when luck came calling. “When Ramesh Babu, the managing director of Risun Pictures for which I have done a couple of ads, called me and asked if I would be interested in doing a film, I was surprised. Cinema was always my ambition. I wanted my first film to be a star-studded affair and told Ramesh a story. But when budget constraints became a hurdle, we shelved it and moved on to the story of ‘Plus Two.’ The film has a host of newcomers who have the talent to make it big.”
‘Plus Two’ tells the story of friends Prince, Mathews, Faisal, Sambhu and Ranjith who are Plus Two students living together in Prince’s villa. Their lives take a turn when Meenakshi (played by Shafna of ‘Katha Thudarunnu’) and her mother walk in one night. They come enquiring about Meenakshi’s sister who eloped with her lover years ago and go disappointed when they realise they have come to the wrong address. Prince bumps into an orphaned Meenakshi days later and takes up her protection without the knowledge of his friends. The twists and turns in their friendship and the budding tale of love form the crux of the story. Besides new faces, ‘Plus Two’ also has seasoned stars including Sai Kumar, Maniyanpilla Raju, Salim Kumar, Suraj Venjaramoodu and Sona Nair.
“I come from an orthodox Muslim family. My folks were dead against my having anything to do with the film world. So I had to lie to them that I was doing a hotel management course when I was imbibing the nuances of cinema at a film institute in Thiruvananthapuram,” Shebi says with a laugh as he saunters down memory lane. “When my brother gave me a surprise visit, he was shocked to see I was pursuing cinema. Financial support from my family stopped with that and I went through a testing time, trying hard to make ends meet. But I am grateful that the struggle has, in the long run, proved fruitful.”
Shebi hopes that the film will mark a new beginning in Malayalam cinema. “The different treatment given to the subject is already the talk of the industry. Right now, discussions are on to make its Tamil version.” Shebi is all the more optimistic with the rave reviews offbeat films such as ‘Malarvady Arts Club’ and ‘Apoorvaragam’ have been getting. “This is a new trend. And by all means, a good one. ‘Plus Two’ is a new generation film that has broken many age-old norms in filmmaking.”
Shebi’s next project is ‘Bachelors’ which will begin shooting on August 20. “Produced under the ‘Picture Box’ banner, the film is a tale of revenge,” he says. He’ll also direct Alwin Antony’s next after the Mammootty-Richa Pallod-starrer ‘Daddy Cool.’ Yes, Shebi is here to stay.
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