The fire of passion flames out amidst the rehearsal of a play. Creating an arresting montage of tempestuous love, a slew of intoxicating scenes spill out of the screen. ‘Shakespeare in Love’, Vineeth Sreenivasan’s favourite film, has the Bard of Avon and his muse caught in a whirlwind affair and the young actor-filmmaker says he was floored by the wildly romantic character of the film.
As his second outing ‘Thattathin Marayathu’, a romantic caper set in Malabar, hits the screens today, Vineeth says he always nurtured a secret fetish for romances.
“Knowing a woman means knowing a world. The mere beauty of co-existing at all levels makes it all the more alluring,” he says. Vineeth says despite the seemingly cliched plot, ‘Thattathin Marayathu’ is not just a boy-meets-girl tale.
“It’s a sweet and simple film, something that leaves a lingering aftertaste.” He also adds that out-and-out romantic films are a rarity in Malayalam, one of the reasons he decided to explore the genre.
‘Thattathin Marayathu’ is all about a Hindu boy falling for a Muslim girl but Vineeth says that the film doesn’t follow the trodden path.
“I have no claims. It’s definitely an inter-caste love story, but not yet another take on a stereotyped topic. It’s a simple tale that mainly explores the lighter side of romance. It’s not a movie for a particular audience or age group,” he says. The film has Nivin Pauly and Isha Talwar in the lead and Vineeth says casting Isha was no accident.
“We were on the lookout for a demure beauty. We wanted a fresh face, extremely ravishing in appearance that she looks almost unattainable to the character played by Nivin. After the audition and costume trial we had no doubts that Isha made the most logical choice. Another aspect for casting her is the pair looks great together,” he says. Vineeth says he has a soft corner for Malabar, a place he grew up in.
“There is something about the milieu of Malabar and weaving a story against that backdrop was something I couldn’t resist,” he says. He also has no qualms about some people branding his film as ‘painkili’.
“All romances will have that soft and syrupy side. We Malayalis in general have a romantic orientation, but the concept of love changes with time and lifestyle. Each generation will have their own special love story and ‘Thattathin Marayathu’ is mine,” he signs off.
