Their work puts them on corridors of power where they come across myriad faces with engaging stories. The realities they stumbled upon there intrigued them enough to pen it down. Laced with seamless imagination and hard-hitting plots, it became an electrifying script for a socio-political thriller.
Civil servants Dr K Ampady, Managing Director, Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation Ltd and Kozhikode District Collector N Prasanth are turning scriptwriters for the I V Sasi’s comeback vehicle starring Mohanlal.
“The movie is a socio-political thriller, a mass entertainer with a humorous plot. It will be based in Thiruvananthapuram and will revolve around politics, media and business, something very contemporary. It will be a pacy thriller,” says Ampady who has earlier scripted the movie ‘Ayal’, that won many state awards in 2013.
Ampady says the movie will feature Mohanlal in people’s favourite avatar. “This is a tailor-made role for Mohanlal. The people will love him in the movie. It will explore his mettle as an actor and as a popular star,” says Ampady.
And, for both, getting to work with I V Sasi was high point as writers.
“He is a master craftsman and for our first commercial outing, we couldn’t have asked for a better team. When we first heard that I V Sasi sir was hunting for a good story for his comeback, we went to him with the script. He had by then read many stories but wasn’t impressed with anything. But, when we narrated it to him, he was thoroughly impressed and next day called us with suggestions. It was he who approached Mohanlal with the thread who was equally enthusiastic about it,” says Ampady. Entrepreneur Gokulam Gopalan will produce the movie and there will be an ensemble cast, adds Ampady.
The duo whose passion for cinema forced them to literally burn midnight oil say what makes them click is how their minds meet. “We share a same wavelength and we have been friends for so long that there is no ego between us. We can read and evaluate the other’s writing with a sense of detachment. But, only things and ideas that work for both of us goes onto the paper,” says Prasanth.
He adds both has their strong points and co-writing only makes the script better. “Since I have been writing satirical pieces for sometime, I always handle the humour part. Then Ampady is good when it comes to penning dialogues,” says Prasanth.
Though they have sprinkled in incidents from their profession, the movie will not have a preachy tone. “This is just an entertainment outing. There is no deliberate move to infuse any social message in it. People always tend to reject anything that has a preachy tone,” says Ampady.
And, how do they manage it amidst they tight work schedule? “We don’t always work together. Sometimes one of us write it and share it with the other. Then, there are times we get together, like journeys to Delhi. That’s when we really sit together and work on it,” says Prasanth.
He adds that they are also working on another project, a satire which may become a movie. “Actually that was our first project, but when this idea popped up, a friend of suggested we move on with this first,” says Prasanth who has got many of his writings published.