Follows a teenage boy searching for his missing mother following a turbulent childhood and her subsequent disappearance, exploring his search for closure and the truth about his past.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Even after finishing up the film's music, Sushin was like, oh, it's a weird film, right?
00:05Yeah, it is a weird film.
00:06Weird in a great way.
00:17Hello, Chitambaram.
00:18Hello.
00:19Congrats for the film.
00:20I watched it last night.
00:22I loved the film.
00:23I think it's fantastic.
00:24It was a very unsettling film.
00:26It was haunting and at the same time, it was beautiful.
00:29The weirdness of it.
00:31At times, it felt like I was watching an A24 horror film.
00:35And at the same time, it was also very sweet in unexpected ways.
00:40So, I loved the balance.
00:43And I know it's a simplistic description.
00:46We'll discuss it further.
00:48Coming back from Manjumail Boys, all of us know how massive of a deal it was.
00:54It was everywhere.
00:54The whole country was talking about it.
00:56The love was just outpouring.
00:58Non-stop.
00:59And you were travelling with the film for months.
01:02I remember the film released on 22nd February and we shot an interview here in Hyderabad.
01:07Right before the Telugu release.
01:09Yes.
01:10Which means almost two months you spent with the film after it reached the audience.
01:16Yeah.
01:17So, when did the celebration finally settle down?
01:20And when did you feel like, okay, now I have to get back to work?
01:24How did that transition happen?
01:26Yeah.
01:27I think we celebrated a bit much for Manjumail Boys and…
01:31Deserves.
01:31Deserves.
01:32It went on for a year and after all the celebrations and the deaths settled.
01:36Hmm.
01:37I was like, what to do next and…
01:39Took an year?
01:40Yeah.
01:41Took almost a year and a year.
01:42Like to get out of it and to decide what to do.
01:45And there were a lot of projects like in the pipeline.
01:48But everything was big and ambitious so it will take time.
01:53So, I was feeling sad.
01:54What to do next?
01:54And that's when Balin happened.
01:56I met Jitu and he happened to add the story and…
01:59So, Balin was never planned.
02:01It was never in the cart.
02:02So, it happened and I was very fortunate for this to happen.
02:06Now, what surprises me the most is that after Manjumail Boys, everyone was behind you.
02:13All major production houses.
02:15Everyone was just willing to surrender themselves to you.
02:19You could have had the budgets that you wanted.
02:22You could have had the stars.
02:25If you aim for a star, the chances were pretty high.
02:28Right?
02:29But you didn't scale up.
02:31Instead, you just stuck to this.
02:33I wouldn't call this a small film at all.
02:35Because compared to your films, Jahneman or Manjumail Boys, this has the most expansive story.
02:41It spans for years and years.
02:43Why didn't you scale up?
02:45Didn't you even think about the fact that you would have had everything at your disposal?
02:50See, I don't think I haven't scaled up.
02:52For me, I think I have scaled up.
02:54Because to do something like Balin is pretty tough.
02:58It doesn't have any spectacle.
03:00It doesn't rely on any visual.
03:06It's more personal.
03:08The camera is very close to your face.
03:10I think as a director also, I have evolved and I know now how to shoot emotions and convey it,
03:17I think.
03:18So I think for me, it's evolution only.
03:20I don't think I have scaled up.
03:23And scale not just comes in vision.
03:29I think scale also is in emotions.
03:32So emotionally, I think I have scaled up.
03:33Yeah, you did.
03:36That's what I think.
03:37It's beautiful that we have a young filmmaker thinking on these lines because the norm is that I deliver a
03:42hit and immediately I have a star.
03:45Yes.
03:45And I'm pretty sure people around you are.
03:48That is what anyone would have expected from you.
03:52But you defied that.
03:54Yeah.
03:55I don't know.
03:56It was nothing deliberate.
03:58I have to make a statement or anything.
04:00There are films with stars which are in the pipeline which are under development.
04:05But somehow I was trying to do a Hindi film.
04:07But it takes its own time.
04:10Balin happened.
04:11Balin just manifested.
04:11So it was never planned or like I don't want to say people like here.
04:16Nothing like that.
04:16It just happened and it happened to be a good film.
04:19And I was very grateful to get this boy, his mother and everything.
04:25So yeah.
04:26Didn't Manjumal boys bring them a baggage?
04:30Manjumal, it's not a baggage.
04:32Manjumal, if there was no Manjumal boys, I couldn't have made Balin.
04:37Really?
04:37Nobody would have bagged it.
04:39Like because I have Manjumal boys, I am doing that film with a child.
04:42And it's not exactly a very inexpensive film.
04:46It's on budget and everything for a film with newcomers and all my technicians and all my technicality.
04:52And it's all as expenditure.
04:55So Manjumal boys made Balin happen.
04:58Without Manjumal, Balin wouldn't have happened.
04:59I won't have the audacity or agency to get this.
05:02It is a risky film.
05:03At least on paper.
05:04It's not conventional at all.
05:06It's not conventional.
05:06It's not at all conventional.
05:07So when you listen to the script for the first time as audience.
05:11We watched the film yesterday as audience.
05:14Today is the second day of the release.
05:16But I am assuming you listened to Jitu's narration or read the script as an audience for the very first
05:21time.
05:22What was your reaction?
05:24As audience, how were you processing the unpredictable nature of the script?
05:28Yeah.
05:28Exactly that.
05:29Collectibility is what hooked me towards the end.
05:33When he told the end portion, I was like, yeah, there is a film around it.
05:37And I like the setting.
05:39Mother and child starting their life, getting out of prison.
05:44And they are not black or white.
05:46They are grey.
05:47And yet I have to make the audience good for them.
05:51And it's challenging.
05:53So I like the challenging part of it.
05:54And the space is very, and I have found it very interesting and unique.
06:01Jitu, he is the writer of Romancham.
06:03He is Avesham.
06:04Obviously, you have known him for a while.
06:05Did he give you narration or did you read the script?
06:08Or what was that very initial discussion like?
06:10The first one was like a 10 minute discussion.
06:12This is the story.
06:12Mother and child getting out.
06:13How did you pitch it?
06:14How did you pitch it?
06:15I went to his house.
06:16And I was very hungry.
06:17So his wife got me some rice.
06:19And I was eating and he was like telling.
06:22And 10-15 minutes he told me the story.
06:24And I was like let's do this.
06:27That's it.
06:28And the next day you went to Bangalore.
06:30Bangalore and the third day.
06:32The third day we started rolling our pre-production.
06:38Now, I still find it pretty crazy because you speak about acts.
06:45Obviously, you said that I don't come from an academic background.
06:49But there is a way, there is a particular way I approach my scripts.
06:53Which is obviously the three act structure.
06:57You split each act into three more acts.
07:00And then divide each of those acts into 10 pointers.
07:03So by the end of it, you have 90 pointers which is your full fill.
07:07Yeah.
07:07Does that apply to Balan?
07:09No.
07:09Yeah.
07:10Balan is something very different.
07:11I don't, I don't, I didn't try to put any structure to it.
07:15I didn't try to put a, because the perspective also shifts.
07:19Plus, half it is about a mother and child.
07:22The second half opens with a totally strange, like with the police guy.
07:27So, nothing is, nothing conventional about the screenplay.
07:30And we didn't try to put a three act structure or anything.
07:34I think that's what makes this film something new and unique and unpredictable, I think.
07:38And unsettling.
07:39Because you are not very used to it.
07:41It's like 50% is one film.
07:43Yeah.
07:4425% is one film and 25% is another film.
07:47But that is also a risk, right?
07:49Yeah.
07:49Because the first half of the film, it's beautiful.
07:52You are rooting for this, this mother and the son.
07:56It's also creepy in its own way.
07:58Yeah.
07:59Because you don't know where this film is going.
08:01The film itself is very unpredictable.
08:03And Farzana, since we haven't seen her, you really don't know what she's gonna do.
08:09Yeah.
08:10Whether she'll go like full psych mode, like the mother from Hereditary.
08:14Or is she a nice person?
08:16There is really no reference, right?
08:18Yeah.
08:19Her performance amplified the unpredictability of the script.
08:23Yeah, that's exactly why I went for a new face.
08:25There are like enough and great actors around us for who will fit into this role.
08:32But I wanted a new face because of this unpredictability.
08:34Who is she?
08:35What will be her next move?
08:37Can I trust her?
08:38So, that whole question comes and that's why I went with Farzana.
08:41But you, as a filmmaker, make us root for the mother and son.
08:46We are really enjoying their own dynamic.
08:49It's almost like, it's almost like a cute little reverse drishyam.
08:52Where the mom and son are, they have a pact.
08:55It's like Bonnie and Clyde, but mother and son.
08:58Mother and son.
08:58They have their own universe.
09:00Everyone else doesn't matter to them, right?
09:04So, you make the…
09:05We are so connected to the mom and son.
09:08And then the interval comes.
09:10And the film opens.
09:11The mom is nowhere to be seen.
09:13Yeah.
09:14That's…
09:14That's a big risk.
09:15Yeah.
09:15When writing…
09:18We knew it was a big risk to take.
09:20Because the two phases we are used to.
09:23Like…
09:24Used to.
09:25It's not in the second half.
09:27So…
09:27That's a risk.
09:28Then…
09:28Then also, like…
09:30After the second half starts, you have to bring back the people's attention to the story.
09:34So…
09:34That's all very tricky parts of the writing.
09:37And then…
09:38You have the teenage…
09:40Phaalan.
09:41Okay, you feel like, okay, this is what the film's zone is gonna be.
09:45Then you introduce the police angle.
09:48Then you again cut.
09:49And then you go back again.
09:51Yeah.
09:52That is yet another risk, right?
09:54Yeah.
09:55So, it's like…
09:56Did you watch weapons?
09:58Yeah.
09:59In weapons, we get different perspectives, right?
10:01After one point, I think towards the end, when the film breaks down and goes to another perspective, I felt
10:08restless.
10:09Yeah.
10:10Okay, because, come on man, I want the story to progress.
10:12I'm so invested in the story.
10:14I want to know what happens next.
10:15I had a similar feeling with Balan, when it cuts to the…
10:19Bangalore, that harbour.
10:20Yeah, the harbour portion.
10:21That's a risk, right?
10:22It is a risk.
10:23I don't know.
10:23It is a risk.
10:25You can take risk, but you are kind of…
10:28You are running the risk of disappointing the audience then, right?
10:32But because that thing has to be there, then only the end act makes sense.
10:36Really?
10:37Yeah, because if the graph goes like this, it patters.
10:41You have to dip.
10:43Then only the rice will be felt.
10:46But why did you feel it needed that run time?
10:50Couldn't…
10:51You have established that in 10 to 15 minutes, the harbour sequence, his upbringing.
10:56Why did you feel…
10:5615 minutes you told.
10:58That sequence is only 20 minutes, 5 minutes only.
11:00It's only 20 minutes?
11:01Yeah, it's only one reel, I think.
11:03Okay, okay.
11:05Because the landscape has changed.
11:06The new guy and who is there, what is he going to do with this boy?
11:09Are you going to send him back to his mother and…
11:12Or he's going to like…
11:15Make another criminal out of him.
11:18I think that is unsettling and you want to get to the end fast.
11:22Yeah, yeah.
11:22You want to like, okay, I don't want to listen to all of this, where is the mother?
11:25Yeah, yeah.
11:25That's exactly why we put it there.
11:27So, the longing is there and…
11:30Then we come back to the main storyline.
11:32Hmm.
11:33Then the climatic, that rise starts.
11:36Yeah.
11:36Some dip only, then you will feel the rise.
11:39Hmm.
11:39Otherwise, if you like…
11:41So, all goes on the same energy, the climatic elevation…
11:44Don't feel as much as elevated.
11:47Right.
11:47Yeah.
11:48Why is it Balan, why not Amma?
11:52Exactly.
11:53You will ask…
11:53Because if the film's name is Amma,
11:58Look for the mother, you will look into her face…
12:00It's Balan…
12:01It's also…
12:01I don't know…
12:02I don't want to…
12:04Yeah, yeah.
12:04But we will talk it out of context.
12:06Yeah.
12:07So, people who have seen it will get it.
12:08Those who have seen it won't obviously…
12:10Exactly.
12:11But was that…
12:12Was there never that thought to show the mom's POV at any…
12:17I know you…
12:18If you do that, your climax would have been different.
12:20This climax wouldn't work.
12:21But was there ever the thought while writing…
12:24See, the film doesn't stick to anyone's POV.
12:27So, the film starts with Amma and son.
12:30They are going around.
12:32And there are scenes when they are not there also.
12:34When they have kept the key and left.
12:36So, the camera is not attached to it.
12:38It's free flowing.
12:39The eye is everywhere.
12:41You can be out of anyone.
12:42You can jump from my shoulders to yours.
12:44Anytime.
12:46It's like a baton, you know.
12:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:49No, I…
12:50I absolutely loved Amma's character.
12:54You also love her.
12:56She's wonderful.
12:57The actor, she brought such a unique quality to the film.
13:03Initially, she's creepy.
13:05And then she's very…
13:07She's funny at times.
13:08And there is a beautiful moment between Amma and the kid.
13:12Where they draw each other.
13:14It's like when this character is introduced,
13:17she's almost like a horror movie character.
13:19You introduce her like that, right?
13:21Then you humanize her.
13:22And by the end of it, by the end of her character,
13:25you genuinely feel sad for her.
13:28And this is the only person the mother listens to.
13:31Because she sees herself in her.
13:34Maybe.
13:36Yeah, the son.
13:37And Amma is the only one who understands who really Farzana is.
13:41Yeah.
13:42The mother is like,
13:43you don't have to worry.
13:45I don't know.
13:45You don't have to run.
13:46You can't be here.
13:48Nobody will come looking for you here.
13:49So, Amma sees through her.
13:51And she gets it.
13:53All those portions, they were brilliant.
13:56They were really brilliant.
13:57I mean,
13:58even the exchange between the mother and son,
14:01when they are sleeping.
14:03And the kid asks the mother,
14:05do you think she will kill us?
14:07Then the mother doesn't try to pacify the kid.
14:10She's like,
14:11I don't know.
14:12Maybe.
14:13Are you scared?
14:14Then he's like,
14:15little bit.
14:16Will you kill her?
14:17Then the mom is like,
14:19we'll see.
14:20So,
14:21she's,
14:21it's very dark.
14:22If you actually think about it,
14:24the mother is not trying to make her kid feel comfortable or,
14:27or safe.
14:29They come from a different world.
14:31Because every day,
14:33if you're a person,
14:34every day is survival.
14:35There are a lot of fights happening.
14:36There is a lot of mistrust.
14:38A lot of people.
14:39And it's not exactly a good place for a child to grow up.
14:43Absolutely.
14:44Yeah.
14:44So,
14:45if you have to like,
14:46if you,
14:47so there will be a lot of nights,
14:48you're sharing self with other invades.
14:51Hmm.
14:51And there will be insecurities during sleep.
14:53And,
14:54so they have to defend.
14:55They have to take up,
14:56any weapon they can find.
14:58They have to fight.
14:59And,
14:59and women prison is like,
15:02like men prison only.
15:04They have fights.
15:05They have ego clashes.
15:06They have murders happening.
15:08And,
15:08and everything happens in a female prison happens.
15:10Sorry,
15:11in a male prison happens in a female prison.
15:12Yeah.
15:13Yeah.
15:14So,
15:16get a,
15:17you know,
15:17to protect the child,
15:19from all the other people.
15:21And,
15:22you have to kill someone for it.
15:23You have to,
15:24because that's the world we come from.
15:26Hmm.
15:26Yeah.
15:27So,
15:27it is a very normal conversation with them.
15:29Yeah.
15:30See,
15:30what surprises is the normality of that conversation.
15:33Yeah.
15:33It's not made to feel like a big deal.
15:35Yeah.
15:35It's a,
15:36it happens as a matter of fact.
15:38And also,
15:38boy also has seen,
15:39not just his mother,
15:40not of other inmates.
15:42Yeah.
15:42And,
15:43a,
15:43a child is not,
15:45like,
15:46if you,
15:46like,
15:47she will need help of other inmates during,
15:49like,
15:50so there are a lot of women who might have raised that,
15:52and all of them are criminals.
15:53Yeah.
15:54So, there will be murderers,
15:56there will be,
15:56like,
15:57smugglers.
15:58So, the boy also has seen different traits of people.
16:01So, he won't,
16:02he's not easily surprised.
16:03And, that's why he,
16:05when he sees to be,
16:06he's drawn to him,
16:07because he has seen that,
16:08kind of people,
16:09and they share a common,
16:10they live outside the society.
16:12So, that is,
16:12that is,
16:13what connects him to,
16:14Toveenu.
16:15So, my wife was saying,
16:16this kid is gonna need,
16:18some heart therapy after he grows up.
16:20No.
16:22He's unbothered.
16:23He's unbothered.
16:25He's unbothered.
16:25No, but,
16:25when you write,
16:27a character,
16:28like this,
16:29do you think about,
16:30what happens to them,
16:31after the credits roll?
16:33Like,
16:33what will this guy,
16:34grow up to be?
16:35That's why,
16:36they start the loop,
16:37so I don't want to,
16:37it's a spoiler,
16:38like I said,
16:39talk about it.
16:40So, it's a,
16:41it's a loop.
16:43Yeah.
16:44So, do you think that,
16:45what will you do,
16:46in your right senses?
16:47You will do,
16:48and like,
16:48find a normal way to,
16:50live and,
16:50try to fit into society,
16:51right?
16:52But, they're starting it all over again.
16:54It's still not a,
16:55happily ever after,
16:56kind of,
16:57ending.
16:58But, I do wish them peace.
17:00Because,
17:00whatever has happened,
17:02it's behind them now.
17:03Yeah.
17:04I don't know,
17:05I don't know,
17:06like as my protagonist,
17:07I want them to,
17:08do crazy stuff again.
17:09Again?
17:10You don't want them to,
17:11live peacefully?
17:12They can't settle anyway.
17:13That's not happening?
17:14They can't.
17:16Hmm.
17:18Does the kid know,
17:19the mother's real name?
17:21Of course.
17:22Hmm.
17:23Because,
17:24every time someone asks him,
17:26what's your,
17:27mother's name?
17:29There are cuts,
17:30yeah,
17:30to multiple.
17:31It's confused,
17:31because it's a small drain,
17:33lot of,
17:34neural pathways might,
17:36I don't know,
17:36get tangled.
17:37And,
17:38there's a school scene,
17:39where they ask,
17:39what's your father's name?
17:41He doesn't have an image,
17:42only image of,
17:43men,
17:44is what all the inmates have drawn.
17:46Yeah.
17:47The prison cells,
17:49prison walls.
17:50Yeah.
17:51So,
17:51that's the only image of,
17:53father he has.
17:55There could be anyone in there.
17:57And,
17:58yeah.
17:59So,
17:59those are the same,
18:00like the same scene,
18:02where the bell rings in the school,
18:03it immediately takes him back to the prison.
18:06Yeah.
18:07This is also like,
18:08at the bend,
18:09after this bell,
18:10you all have to get into your classes.
18:12Like in the cell,
18:13after the bell,
18:13you have to get into the cell,
18:14and lock up yourself.
18:15It's a lot of similarities.
18:16He's never gonna know,
18:18what normality is,
18:19is gonna feel like.
18:21You said,
18:22you had worked on close to 10 drafts,
18:24before,
18:24you went on to film.
18:26Can you,
18:27like,
18:27give me like,
18:28two examples,
18:29of what changed?
18:30I don't know,
18:31it's a set of changes.
18:33Okay.
18:33So,
18:33you make a set of changes,
18:36and you sit again.
18:37Then,
18:38you sit and read through the whole thing.
18:40And also,
18:41you have a set of changes,
18:42then you add it,
18:43let it ferment.
18:45Then,
18:45you sit again.
18:46That's how we,
18:47we work on drafts.
18:48Hmm.
18:49So,
18:50it,
18:50it,
18:50it,
18:50it is not one set of,
18:51for example,
18:52to Vino's character.
18:54It was,
18:55multiple characters.
18:56Multiple characters,
18:57amalgamated into,
18:59single character.
19:00And,
19:00and,
19:01after,
19:02their travel,
19:02was like,
19:03very detailed,
19:04and each,
19:06place they go,
19:07we had a scene there.
19:10after a point,
19:10we understood that,
19:11like after,
19:12the first sequence,
19:15so,
19:16whatever they do from there,
19:18it's believable,
19:18and we don't have to say that much.
19:20lot of editing happened in the screenplay,
19:22and lot of characters,
19:23here and there,
19:24and,
19:24yeah.
19:25That's how we got to,
19:27ten drafts.
19:27Yes.
19:28So,
19:28this film is,
19:30completely,
19:31based on,
19:32the choices,
19:34two characters,
19:36make.
19:37Yeah.
19:38So,
19:38and there is one particular choice,
19:40that,
19:40Amma,
19:41makes,
19:42in the first half,
19:43that,
19:44ends up becoming the central,
19:46event.
19:47Something,
19:48I don't,
19:48people who have seen it will understand it.
19:50Banana tree,
19:51something.
19:52Okay.
19:53When,
19:54a character is doing something like that,
19:57how do you,
19:58make sure that,
20:00what she is doing,
20:01is communicated to the audience clearly,
20:04instead of,
20:05them feeling,
20:05why is she doing this?
20:07Why can't she simply,
20:09she already has a modus operandi,
20:11why can't she just go on with that,
20:13instead of,
20:14doing this and inviting more trouble?
20:20It's basically a trust issue,
20:21she can't trust anyone,
20:23even she gets a fine home,
20:24a very,
20:24loving person.
20:26And,
20:27there is an instance in the first tea shop,
20:28like,
20:29she,
20:29he offers them shelter,
20:31in a very,
20:32platonic way.
20:34But,
20:34she still can't,
20:36process it,
20:37because she has paranoia,
20:38she has trust issues,
20:39because,
20:40she fell in love,
20:41and,
20:42this child is a product of that,
20:44and she got him,
20:45she had,
20:47what,
20:47her whole life,
20:49she was trapped,
20:50because of,
20:51she fell in love,
20:51and this child happened,
20:53and that she had to,
20:54get out of that relationship,
20:56through a murder,
20:57go to jail,
20:57and,
20:58I don't know, so,
20:59they need sustenance,
21:01but,
21:01they can't trust anyone,
21:02even if it is pure love,
21:03platonic love,
21:06guardianship,
21:07she,
21:07they don't want it,
21:08they just,
21:09need themselves.
21:10And it is,
21:11and I don't think it needs more than,
21:13more of a reason than that.
21:16And,
21:16in a film,
21:17where,
21:20circumstances,
21:21are the villain,
21:22there is no villain,
21:24villain of sorts.
21:25But,
21:25the closest we get to,
21:27a villain is,
21:28the police,
21:29the Pavitran case.
21:31In a film,
21:32where,
21:33everything to them,
21:34is difficult,
21:35purely by their past,
21:37why did you feel the need,
21:39to,
21:39bring in,
21:40character,
21:41character,
21:42who poses,
21:42further threat.
21:45Of course,
21:45circumstances are there,
21:47but,
21:47you need to put a face to it.
21:48Because,
21:48the entire first half,
21:49is just circumstances.
21:50Even though,
21:51there is somebody called,
21:52that,
21:52they don't live,
21:54they don't live in a bubble,
21:55there are real world consequences,
21:57that is the second half.
21:58There is a system outside,
22:00there are people,
22:02and there are media,
22:03and,
22:03yeah.
22:03So,
22:04that's what,
22:05the second part is about.
22:06First part is just,
22:07very,
22:08lovely,
22:09cosy,
22:09it's just two of us.
22:11It's not lovely or cosy,
22:12it's not,
22:13it's not,
22:13it is still very unsettling only.
22:15Two of us against the world,
22:17and,
22:17we are drifters,
22:18we are drifting,
22:18so,
22:19that dream is broken.
22:21Yeah.
22:22So,
22:22second half is about reality,
22:23and consequences.
22:25Okay.
22:25I went into the film,
22:27without seeing the trailer.
22:28Oh great.
22:28Which I do believe,
22:29is the best way to,
22:30watch any film.
22:31So,
22:32I had no clue,
22:33that there was,
22:33there was Tovino in the film.
22:35I had no idea,
22:36and I had no idea,
22:37that there would even be a time jump.
22:39Because,
22:40I saw only this poster,
22:41of the kid.
22:42So, even the time jump,
22:43was a,
22:44surprise for me.
22:45And,
22:46the first half,
22:46really doesn't prepare you for anything,
22:48that's coming in the second half.
22:49No.
22:50On a screenplay level,
22:52it's crazy.
22:54It's crazy.
22:55So,
22:55what were the kind of responses,
22:56that you were getting,
22:57and when you were going around,
22:59and,
22:59pitching the film,
23:00or narrating to your team,
23:02you do take feedback,
23:03right?
23:03Yeah.
23:04What was the kind of feedback,
23:05that you were getting?
23:06I don't know,
23:06most of the people were like,
23:07okay,
23:08they didn't get,
23:09okay,
23:09at least you are doing,
23:10let's do this.
23:12But,
23:12we,
23:12he knew the whole structure,
23:14we knew the whole climax,
23:15and everything.
23:16So, and because,
23:17the story is something,
23:19it should be kept secret,
23:21it was only on a need to know basis.
23:23Oh, okay.
23:24Yeah.
23:25Some people doesn't know,
23:26so,
23:26in the end, he goes and finds the mother,
23:28and that's the,
23:29that's the screenplay,
23:30we haven't,
23:31after that,
23:31it is not written.
23:34Do you realize that,
23:36the role of dialogue in your film,
23:38is reducing with each,
23:39Oh, yeah.
23:40Each film?
23:40Yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:42Janemal was verbal,
23:43it was a verbal film.
23:45It was very verbal.
23:45Manjumal,
23:46less,
23:47compared,
23:48lesser than Janemal.
23:49This one,
23:50a lot,
23:51still has to do with silences.
23:53She,
23:54there are so many scenes,
23:55where she is just staring.
23:57Yeah.
23:57Where she is just,
23:58she doesn't even,
23:59like the scene where,
24:02she drops him off,
24:04to school.
24:05There is no dialogue,
24:07there is no,
24:08nothing,
24:09there is no even,
24:10she doesn't even smile completely.
24:13Yeah.
24:13So,
24:14you are,
24:15you went complete,
24:17what do you call?
24:17Mute for this.
24:19Yeah.
24:21I don't know,
24:21dialogues are the,
24:22biggest tool,
24:23and the,
24:24you have to be very careful,
24:25with dialogues,
24:26and,
24:27I don't know,
24:28dialogues is very,
24:29like,
24:30it's like background school.
24:31So,
24:32only if it's needed,
24:33then you put it there.
24:34Wow.
24:35Yeah.
24:36It's almost like,
24:37you are making a very,
24:37economical usage of dialogue.
24:39Yeah.
24:40It's like,
24:40if my character speaks,
24:41it's like,
24:41I have to,
24:42spend some money on it.
24:43So,
24:44so economical.
24:45There is no,
24:45unnecessary dialogue.
24:47Yeah.
24:47Like,
24:47nothing.
24:48I think it's,
24:49it's more of a visual film,
24:50and,
24:51I don't know,
24:51so,
24:52less dialogue.
24:54What's your fascination with this aspect ratio?
24:56I don't know,
24:57I like it.
24:57That's it?
24:58Yeah.
24:58It looks better on flat screen.
25:00It is immersive,
25:01and,
25:02yeah.
25:03So,
25:03initially,
25:04I went with this,
25:05because,
25:05it was during the Corona,
25:08Covid outbreak time.
25:09So,
25:10we were never sure it will come to theatres.
25:12Okay.
25:13I made it for the TV.
25:15Okay.
25:16Then,
25:16I loved the aspect ratio.
25:18Then,
25:18when I came to Manjumal,
25:21I didn't want cinemascope,
25:22because it will eliminate the height of the cave.
25:25So,
25:25I want more height to be seen,
25:27more perspective.
25:28So,
25:28that's why I went with,
25:30the same flat ratio.
25:32And,
25:33Malin,
25:34by the time,
25:34I was in love with the issue.
25:35This is my,
25:36and my DOP also like,
25:37loves it.
25:38And I think,
25:39I haven't done my widescreen,
25:40I think,
25:41I need some height,
25:42and,
25:42our,
25:43the way of,
25:44watching films is changed,
25:46and there are IMAX,
25:47there are PXL,
25:48epic,
25:48and so,
25:49I love those,
25:50big screen,
25:51even if it has a,
25:51close up shot,
25:53should like,
25:54really feel,
25:55so,
25:56some people use 3D,
25:57some people use aspect ratios.
26:00And,
26:00the close ups in this film are very visceral.
26:03There is no wasted close up in the film.
26:05Every time,
26:06there is a close up to the boy,
26:09and the boy is also so phenomenal.
26:11The hide and seek sequence,
26:13in the second half.
26:14Yeah.
26:14There is just one wide shot,
26:16where I think,
26:17from Cicely's,
26:18POV,
26:19it's very horror skin away,
26:20looked very creepy.
26:22Psychological drama,
26:24with a horror treatment,
26:25is what I felt.
26:26I don't know whether,
26:27that horror effect was intended.
26:30Yeah,
26:30I think,
26:31it was a thriller,
26:32it is dark, visceral,
26:34I think horror is,
26:35within you.
26:36The horror of,
26:37a boy and,
26:39mother getting separated.
26:40So,
26:41I think that is within,
26:42the audience.
26:43It's borderline horror,
26:45which is why,
26:45I keep,
26:46referring to 824.
26:47Do you,
26:47do you follow those films?
26:48Yeah,
26:49I love 824 films.
26:51It's kind of,
26:52I could,
26:52Yeah, it's weird.
26:53It's weird,
26:54I got the same energy from,
26:56Even after finishing up,
26:57the film's music,
26:59Sushin was like,
26:59Oh,
27:00it's a weird film,
27:01right?
27:01Weird in a great way.
27:04Weird in a brilliant way.
27:05Yeah.
27:05Please tell me about,
27:07Shaiju Khalid,
27:08and the conversations,
27:08that you have with him,
27:09when you have to block a,
27:10It's like a film,
27:11very minimal dialogues.
27:13Nothing.
27:14Shaiju Khalid,
27:14like,
27:16We talk more,
27:17when we are writing,
27:18when you are sitting,
27:19in location,
27:21we are like,
27:23we talk a lot of other stuff,
27:24than movies,
27:25like,
27:26I found a restaurant there,
27:28we get good,
27:29chicken there,
27:30or good beef there,
27:31we do that,
27:32and good pork there.
27:33So, we,
27:34mostly we scout for,
27:35good place to eat,
27:36good place to,
27:37take a morning walk,
27:38or,
27:38go for a swim.
27:40That's what we are more,
27:41thinking of,
27:42like,
27:42while we are,
27:42at set.
27:44Because we are shooting in wine,
27:45and you saw the place,
27:46it's very beautiful.
27:47So, every time,
27:48it's like,
27:48oh,
27:48there is a waterfall,
27:50we'll talk very less film.
27:52Because all the film,
27:53all the,
27:55talk of film,
27:56should be done,
27:57before the,
27:57starting of the shoot.
27:59So, that is all done now.
28:00We are just,
28:00shooting,
28:01by the book,
28:02by the book.
28:02We improvise,
28:03of course.
28:04We change,
28:05we,
28:05we'll change everything.
28:07But we have the blueprint already.
28:09So,
28:10mostly it's about,
28:11good food,
28:13swimming,
28:14walking,
28:15and stuff.
28:16So,
28:17Manjumail Boyz,
28:18that was a difficult film to shoot,
28:20purely because of,
28:21the logistical,
28:22constraints,
28:23and,
28:23the pure physicality of,
28:25the location,
28:26and,
28:27how demanding,
28:28the shoot was.
28:29Each shot is very technical.
28:30Each shot,
28:31each shot in it.
28:32What was the challenge for you in Balan?
28:34Balan was convincing myself,
28:37emotionally,
28:38to do the scene.
28:40Sometimes,
28:41you have to,
28:42you can't,
28:42for a film like this,
28:44you can't shoot,
28:45if you are not emotionally convinced about this,
28:47and you,
28:48you connect with it.
28:50So,
28:51every day,
28:52my brain won't be in the full capacity,
28:54or in the emotional capacity.
28:55Sometimes,
28:56I'll be tired,
28:56so,
28:57still I have to do a very intense scene.
28:59So,
28:59that was a very hard part.
29:01And,
29:02if,
29:02if the film has,
29:04let's say,
29:05100 scenes,
29:0785 scenes are intense scenes.
29:08Yeah.
29:09Tell me one normal scene in the film,
29:11which you thought was,
29:13was,
29:13I know,
29:14the serious scene in the film,
29:16is like,
29:16my,
29:16the grandma acting like,
29:18she got poisoned,
29:19and she died.
29:21And,
29:21yeah,
29:22the boy is like,
29:23walking towards her.
29:23Simple scene?
29:24Yeah,
29:24that is a simple scene.
29:27Silly scene,
29:28okay.
29:29Yeah.
29:30And intense ones,
29:31the ones that,
29:33that you,
29:34the,
29:34the convincing that you just mentioned,
29:36what were the scenes that,
29:38took the most from you?
29:43Most of the,
29:44most of the,
29:45most of the,
29:45I think the beginning of the film,
29:47like the getting out from the jail,
29:49and I was,
29:49we,
29:50I was getting,
29:51it was very interesting space for,
29:52to shoot.
29:54And,
29:55the,
29:55the,
29:55the shot of the mother and child,
29:57walking towards the camera,
29:58it's a long shot,
29:59short of the tele-lens.
30:00I got that,
30:01it's,
30:02I've seen,
30:03what was his name?
30:06Leon the professional,
30:07I will say.
30:08Leon, yeah, yeah, yeah.
30:09There's a similar shot like that.
30:10Walking shot.
30:11Yeah,
30:12that,
30:13that,
30:13that,
30:14assassin and the,
30:15so,
30:17I,
30:17I was really,
30:17but I don't know,
30:18which,
30:18in which film to put it.
30:20So,
30:20finally,
30:21walking out,
30:22okay,
30:22I need that shot,
30:24let's,
30:25let's take that shot.
30:26So,
30:26that was,
30:27yeah,
30:28something like that.
30:29And,
30:30Sushin's,
30:32like,
30:32how do you communicate?
30:33How does that back and forth happen?
30:35He's there,
30:36till the,
30:36like,
30:37from the beginning,
30:39of,
30:39brainstorming about,
30:40the screenplay,
30:41he's there.
30:42And,
30:42he also gives suggestions,
30:44so he's not like,
30:44I don't,
30:45it's not like that,
30:46I finish the film,
30:47and go over the hard disk.
30:48He,
30:48is part of the screenplay,
30:50is part of all the narrations,
30:51and he will have things to say.
30:54So,
30:55yeah,
30:56so structurally,
30:56he's also,
30:58above all,
30:59we are very privileged to be friends,
31:01as well.
31:02So,
31:02communication is very easy,
31:03and,
31:05so,
31:06yeah,
31:06that's it.
31:07Finally,
31:08finally,
31:08what's your favourite scene in the film?
31:10One scene that you're proud of?
31:14The one shot I'm very proud of,
31:16is the mother and child,
31:17lying in the bed,
31:18with the gun.
31:18With the gun,
31:19yeah, yeah.
31:20I'm very proud of that shot,
31:21and,
31:23what else,
31:24there are a lot of scenes,
31:25I don't know.
31:26I like the run.
31:28The run.
31:29The run.
31:29It is,
31:30I,
31:31we played with the shutter speed,
31:33of the camera,
31:35so it is,
31:35it's a little bit flowy,
31:37it's not very sharp,
31:38so we want to like,
31:39go to the,
31:40a simple surreal touch to it.
31:42And the music also,
31:43during that is,
31:44yeah,
31:45it's,
31:46absolute cinema.
31:47That,
31:47that moment,
31:48that reveal,
31:49at the end is absolute cinema.
31:50How,
31:51finally,
31:51how did you feel,
31:53when you watched the film?
31:54I don't feel anything,
31:55I've seen it a thousand times.
31:56With audience,
31:56with audience.
31:57Audience, yeah,
31:58it was good.
31:59That's it.
31:59I don't sit much,
32:01like,
32:01I go out,
32:02because I've seen it,
32:04I've seen it many times,
32:05and,
32:05yeah.
32:06I haven't seen the film,
32:09with audience yet.
32:10Yeah,
32:10okay,
32:10I've like,
32:11I go and come out,
32:13I'm too impatient,
32:14like,
32:14oh,
32:14I've seen the film,
32:15so now that you are in Hyderabad,
32:18please do,
32:19check it out with our audience.
32:21It's always a pleasure,
32:21to watch a film in Hyderabad.
32:23Yeah.
32:26I was,
32:27after Manjumal,
32:28I went to Chennai,
32:30and,
32:30we went to Vetri theatre.
32:32Wow.
32:32It was,
32:33crazy.
32:35And,
32:35one of my friends,
32:35you think this is crazy,
32:36go to Hyderabad.
32:38When I came here,
32:39I don't know which theatre I went,
32:40and,
32:41and,
32:42it really moved me,
32:43like how people celebrate,
32:45films so religiously,
32:47Hyderabad,
32:48like all over the,
32:49Telugu states,
32:50and,
32:50beautiful,
32:51and,
32:52how,
32:53how people support films,
32:55in,
32:55this part of the country.
32:56It is great.
32:57Yeah.
32:58Siddharam,
32:59thank you so much for the time,
33:00and,
33:00all the very best for your next one.
33:02I really have no idea,
33:04what you're gonna,
33:05do next,
33:06because,
33:06this was a genuine surprise,
33:07after Manjumal Boys.
33:09So,
33:10continue to surprise us,
33:11and continue to,
33:12tell great stories,
33:13that you have done so far.
33:14I'll try.
33:15All the very best.
33:17Bye.
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