If there is any producer in Malayalam film industry with a magic wand, it has to be Listin Stephen. This 20-something lad from Kottayam, with an impeccable ‘nose’ for a good script and the guts to take risks, has managed to strike gold in his short career.
His production house, the aptly-titled Magic Frames, has churned out movies that went on to become trend-setters, including the latest money-minter How Old Are You, the comeback vehicle of Manju Warrier. The other hits include Traffic, Chappa Kurish, Ustad Hotel and Pulivaal.
But Listin attributes all his success to ‘time’. “The stars were in my favour,” he says. “The time was favourable. These movies were all experiments. They might not have worked if it was another time.”
Listin says he was enticed by movies all his life and wanted to do something behind the camera. “My penchant for movies made me don the garb of a distributor. I did take up a few projects, but none of them were financially profitable. It was then that I thought of becoming a producer and commit to projects that I believe in rather than taking up movies that others recommended,” he says.
Listin admits that his debut project was a risk. “Traffic was a movie that most producers were reluctant to take up. But, when I heard the story from scriptwriters Sanjay-Bobby and director Rajesh Pillai, I felt convinced. I am happy that our efforts have paid off,” says Listin.
Traffic went on to become a sleeper hit and accelerated the ‘new-gen’ trend that begun in the Malayalam movie industry in 2013. Listin says good scripts just fall by but not without its share of problems. “Every movie has its share of issues. Even How Old Are You had huge issues when it came to satellite rights. Many even advised me to go ahead and sell it for peanuts. But I was adamant,” says the producer.
Listin says his association with Sanjay-Bobby has benefited him personally and professionally. “They are someone who come up with solid work, irrespective of the financial saleability. Working with them has helped me professionally. Moreover, Sanjay is a good friend of mine too,” says Listin.
All his movies right from Traffic to Chappakurish to How Old Are You were done with actors who were yet to get the star status. Traffic had relatively no stars, while the lead in Chappakurish was Fahadh Faasil who was yet to become a lead actor that time.
Ustad Hotel, starred Dulquer Salman, who too was yet to establish himself then. So is Listin not aiming to work with established actors? “Not at all. All the projects that I took on convinced me that I needed fresh and young characters. There is no point in sacrificing the plot to include stars. But, like anybody else I would like to work with them,” says Listin.
Listin has extended his winning streak to other languages, too. He, along with Tamil actor Sarath Kumar, has produced Chennaiyil Oru Naal (remake of Traffic and Pulivaal (remake of Chaapakurishu). Though both industries are like chalk and cheese, Listin says he feels the same. And he is busy with two projects; one that stars Vikram Prabhu and directed by A L Vijay and another that will star Dhanush.
Listin will also produce the Malayalam film, Chirakodinja Kinaakal, that will star Sreenivasan, Rima Kallingal and Kunchako Boban.
