After an eight-year break, filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan is back. His next film, ‘Pinneyum’, will have Dileep and Kavya Madhavan in the lead roles. Speaking to reporters at the Ernakulam Press Club on Wednesday, Adoor said his new movie will be a love story. “Pinneyum is not an adaptation of any literary work, but my own observations during the past few years,” Adoor said.
Pinneyum will be jointly produced by Adoor and Baby Mathew Somatheram.
Apart from Dileep and Kavya, Marathi actor Subodh Bhave will play an important role. The other actors include Nedumudy Venu, Vijayaraghavan, Indrans, KPSC Lalitha, Sudheer Karamanna, Ravi Valathol, P Sreekumar, John Samuel and Srindha.
Cinematography will be by M J Radhakrishnan, while Harikumar will handle the sound. Editing is by B Ajith Kumar, while Marthandam Rajashekaran is the art director. Production design and casting will be done by Cuckoo Parameswaran.
The shooting will begin on May 11 at Thiruvananthapuram, with the majority of the scenes being shot at Shasthamkotta. According to Adoor, the shoot will be completed within a month.
Long Gap
Adoor’s last feature film was Oru Pennum Randaanum (Climate of Crime) in 2008.
He said he was so busy during the past few years that he has forgotten the various aspects of moviemaking. “Hence, I am like a fresh director working on his first movie,” he said.
However, Adoor was reluctant to give details regarding the storyline. “It is a pure love story, but without songs or dances. You will not find the lovers loitering around,” he said.
On the reasons behind selecting Dileep and Kavya, Adoor said, “I have always used popular actors in the past. And I wanted to work with Dileep, but a suitable role has come only now. He is a very talented actor. I have worked with Kavya in the past and she suits the character best. This is a movie made on a small budget. So, Kavya and Dileep won’t be paid what they get quoted for other movies,” said Adoor.
Actors Elated
Dileep said Pinneyum has helped him realise his dream of working with Adoor. “I know nothing about the script, but I am thrilled to work with Adoor sir,” said Dileep.
However, for Kavya, working with Adoor is going to be a different experience. “We just have to do what the director asks,” she said. “Adoor sir takes care of even the smallest details, which makes his movies different from the others.”
The Hit Pair Onscreen
Pinneyum will be the 15th film of Dileep and Kavya as a pair from Chandranudikkunna Dikkil’in 1999 to Vellaripravinte Changathi in 2011. Most of them, including Thenkasi Pattanam, Meesa Madhavan, Thilakkam, Runway, Kochi Rajav, Lion, Christian Brothers and Pappi Appacha, were super hits. Though they had four more films together, they were not paired against each other. Incidentally, Kavya debuted as a child artist in director Kamal’s Pookkalam Varavayi in 1991 while Dileep entered the industry as an assistant to the director in the same year.
Adoor, the star of stars
Adoor Gopalakrishnan never had any aversion to roping in big stars. He had Madhu and Sharada, the then top stars, as lead characters in Swayamvaram his first feature film made 44 years ago. However, the next two films Kodiyettam and Elippathayam had lesser-known stars, Gopi and Karamana Janardanan Nair, in the lead. Anantharam had three popular stars, Asokan in the lead along with Mammootty and Sobhana. Adoor’s prowess in casting came to the fore with him choosing superstar Mammootty in Anantharam. Mammootty continued to be the director’s star in his next two projects - Mathilukal and Vidheyan - too. Indeed, Mammootty is the only actor who has more than two films with Adoor as a protagonist.