Girish AD is on cloud nine. The director’s latest film, Premalu, is ruling theatres even a month after its release. Inching closer towards the Rs 100 crore-mark by the day, the OTT rights for the film have already been picked up by Disney Hotstar for an undisclosed amount.
It may seem difficult to understand why a teenage romantic comedy is creating such a buzz. But the young director never had an iota of doubt about the film’s success. “I was confident. There was a lot of happiness and excitement on the set among the actors and the production team. And there were no major hitches during the shooting. Everything moved forward in a smooth way,” he says, adding, “Even though it is a rom-com, there is an innocence in the film, which seems to have appealed to all. My films are simple and have a soul. I don’t pretend to be something I am not.”
That he had worked with his lead pair—Naslen K Gafoor and Mamitha Baiju—before and delivered successes only reinforced his belief. The film sees the two, a couple of lost youngsters, land up in Hyderabad for different reasons and end up falling in love.
Made on a nominal budget of Rs 3 crore, Premalu was shot over 55 days and across multiple cities, including Hyderabad, Pollachi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Palakkad.
This is Girish’s third hit. His 2019 film, Thaneermathan Dinangal, also a romantic comedy, did well, earning Rs 52 crore at the box office. Super Sharanya (2022) too sent the box office ringing.
Girish, however, refuses to take all the credit. According to him, there are several elements required for a film to be successful, and his role as a director is only one of them.
He says, “More than 50 percent is the quality of the screenplay. It should be a good story. For a commercial film, the story should move forward at all times. The viewers cannot get bored at any moment. The other factors include excellent actors, direction and songs.”
Girish started young. His tryst with filmmaking began when he saw the Malayalam horror film, Devadoothan (2000) starring Mohanlal at his Chalakudy (58 kms from Kochi) school. He may have been a class nine student, but watching a mystery unfold on the screen left a strong enough impression for him to decide he wanted to make films. “After that, I began to pay attention to the work of directors. I felt a desire within me to become one,” he says. And, there was no turning back.
After graduating in technology from the Mala Education Trust’s School of Engineering, he made three short films, Yashpal, Mookutthi and Vishuddha Ambrose, winning the Best Director Award in the Adoor Short Film Festival for the latter. He also won the first prize for Mookutthi in a competition held at the Kozhikode Medical College. The judge was the celebrated cinematographer Jomon T John. Girish recalls that soon after the win Jomon had asked if he had any story that could become a script. That is the inception story of Thaneermathan Dinangal, the turning point in his career.
Still basking in the success of Premalu, the filmmaker, who had been working non-stop through Super Sharanaya, Poovan, I am Kathalan and Premalu, is currently taking a much-needed break. “But, I am sure the itch to return to filming will come up soon,” he says.