The Malayalam multi-starrer with Nivin Pauly within the lead focuses on the early historical past of the Kochi port. Thuramukham releases on June 10
The Malayalam multi-starrer with Nivin Pauly within the lead focuses on the early historical past of the Kochi port. Thuramukham releases on June 10
“For me, filmmaking is a kind of documentation,” says cinematographer-director Rajeev Ravi, whose directorial oeuvre contains critically-acclaimed movies equivalent to Kammatti Paadam, Njan Steve Lopez and Annayum Rasoolum.
Over the cellphone, whereas travelling to the units in Mumbai early within the morning, he elaborates: “I am not unduly worried about the box office. Success and money will come and go. I want to document forgotten incidents and events in the recent past that are being erased from our collective memory. At the same time, one should also document contemporary events.”
Rajeev’s directorial movies are reaching theatres after six years. Kuttavum Shikshayum, starring Asif Ali within the lead, launched on May 27.
His Thuramukham, a multi-starrer, which has been ready within the wings for 2 years, is releasing on June 10. Meanwhile, Rajeev is busy filming in Bollywood, working with a number of the entrance rankers of the Hindi movie trade.
For the employees
Talking about Thuramukham, he says it’s set on a broad canvas and narrates the story of the Kochi port; it spans the interval from the Thirties to the Nineteen Fifties, when a protest on the port on September 15, 1953 was brutally put down by the authorities and three employees have been killed in firing.
“Migrant labourers from different backgrounds, many fleeing from the repercussions of the Moplah rebellion in Malabar (1921-22) and some from places like Kollam have made Mattancherry their home. The history of Kochi and Mattacherry is an interesting one,” says Rajeev.
A strike was organised by the undivided Communist Party in 1953, which fashioned a union on the port for the primary time. Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, the final king of erstwhile Travancore, was the principle investor within the port. The film begins earlier than work started on the port and ends with the strike. “A crude way of selecting casual workers for the day, known as the Chappa system, existed then, wherein a metal token was thrown to the workers and those who managed to get one was allowed to work. In the early stages of the port, the Chappa system was controlled by the Moopans and then by unions until the protest was organised against the arbitrary selection of workers. Thuramukham covers that period,” says Rajeev.
Nivin Pauly in Thuramukham, directed by Rajeev Ravi
| Photo Credit: Special association
Although the protests occurred in close by Mattancherry, not many in Kochi have been conscious of the incident, what led to it and its aftermath. “In spite of having lived in Kochi, I had never heard of the protest and the firing. The only time I had seen it mentioned was in auteur John Abraham’s Amma Ariyan, wherein a scene shows the characters walking by the bullet-scarred walls and they talk about the firing there,” explains Rajeev.
Later, he heard a couple of play, Thuramukham written by KM Chidambaran, his pal’s father. Hailing from Palluruthy in Kochi, Chidambaran knew individuals who had participated within the protests and had listened to first-hand accounts of it.
Remember 1953
In 2018, the play was staged in Kochi in affiliation with Uru Art Habour and Rajeev recollects how pleasantly stunned he was to see the response to the play. Mattancherry residents welcomed guests to the play. “They were proud of their memories. That memory is what triggered this movie. I wanted to show that Mattancherry is a place with beautiful memories,” says Rajeev.
With a script by Gopan Chidambaran, the movie’s forged contains Nivin Pauly, Indrajith, Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan, Poornima Indrajith, Manikandan R Achari, Sudev Nair, Arjun Ashokan and Darshana Rajendran amongst others.
His casting is dependent upon the characters in his movies. Rajeev asserts that his sort of movies wouldn’t have been made with out the assist of a youth brigade in Malayalam cinema who take pleasure in working exterior their consolation zone.
Nivin Pauly in Thuramukham, directed by Rajeev Ravi
| Photo Credit: Special association
Nivin, who headlines Thuramukham, is a “powerful actor whose potential has not been tapped by directors”. Actors like Dulquer, Fahadh and Asif are keen to play characters exterior the mainstream narratives, says Rajeev.
“If I feel that an actor is suitable for a role, I do not have a problem with him being a star.”
Calling Thuramukham a cautionary story, he says that it tells us that historical past repeats itself and that individuals could be pushed and cornered solely to an extent earlier than they react. “ Thuramukham is dedicated to the fallen in numerous protests across the world,” he says.
Reality bytes are the power of Rajeev’s movies. Kuttavum Shikshayum, Rajeev’s earlier movie, was additionally based mostly on an actual incident. According to him, the movie is mainly a sort of reportage. A theft in a temple is investigated by a crew of officers who should journey to a different state to trace the thieves. “What I want to convey in the movie is not in your face. It is subtle and one has to read between the lines and be observant to notice what is happening,” says Rajeev.
He says that although he likes to direct, he needs to work on his personal concepts and develop these into scripts. “I can’t direct a script written by someone to explore their ideas.”
Source: www.thehindu.com
