When was the last time you looked around to admire the blue sky or the green ocean waters and the red soil of the earth?
That’s what Sameer Tahir promises in his film, Neelakasham Pachakadal Chuvanna Bhoomi. This story takes you on a road trip from Waynaad in Kerala to Nagaland, as two friends, Kasi and Suni set out on their motorbikes.
For this cinematographer turned director, NPCB is his third venture coming close on the heels of his earlier film, Esha, that was a part of 5 Sundarigal, (an anthology of films) released in June this year in Kerala.
“It revolves around the two friends, the situations they find themselves in on this journey and finally about finding their real indentity,” revealed Tahir, whose debut film, Chappa Kurish, won several awards.
NPCB is based on Hashir Mohammad’s script and stars Dulquer Salman and Sunny Wayne in the leads. Playing supporting roles are veteran Bengali actor Dhritamaan Chatterjee, Manipur actress Surja Bala Hijam and Bengali actress Ena Saha, who are making their Malayalam debut.
Of course a road journey on a Bullet motorbike is no easy ride.
“It comes with its share of road blocks,” laughed Tahir, remembering the six months of shooting that had the team travelling through the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam, Nagaland and Sikkim.
“I was aware of the risks involved. We did go through punctured tyres and the like, but it was worth it, especially when we had the open skies and the green sea keeping us company on the road.”
Ena Saha, who is a regular on Bengali television, plays Dhritimaan’s Chatterjee’s daughter in the film and is paired opposite Sunny Wayne.
“My character Gauri is a village girl, childlike and innocent,” chipped in Saha. “Fortunately my lines were in Hindi and Bengali and I did not have to learn Malayalam.”
Surja Bala Hijam, with around 20 films to her credit in Manipur, plays a tribal girl from Assam who has gone to Kerala to study engineering.
Hijam, who plays Dulquer’s love interest in the story, said, “Although most of my lines were in English, I had some dialogues in Malayalam and delivering that with the right emotions was tough. I managed though with Sameer’s guidance. It was an enjoyable and new experience.”
Co-produced by Sameer Tahir, NPCB has music scored by Rex Vijayan. Gireesh Gangadharan has handled the camera.
This is one road trip to look forward to.
