Who has heard of a film being made in 51 hours and two minutes — from the scripting stage to the shooting, post production and the censorship hurdle to the release of the film?
Creating this unbelievable feat and sitting snug in the Guinness Book of World Records are director Vijesh Mani and producer A.V. Anoop. Their Malayalam film Vishwaguru surpassed the earlier record of 71 hours 10 minutes held by MangalaGamana, a Sri Lankan film.
Vishwaguru, scripted by Pramod Payyannur, depicts the life of Sree Naryana Guru, a social reformer from Kerala, who promoted new values of spiritual freedom and social equality that cut across caste and religion.
With confirmation of this record from Guinness officials, Anoop, producer of 22 films in Tamil and Malayalam including hits such as Godha, Ezra, Arohanam and Oru Muthassi Gadha adds another feather to his hat.
Anoop says he is always looking for different subjects and believes in encouraging new directors. “I never repeat my directors,” he said.
He added that the idea behind Vishwaguru was to mark the legacy of an Indian film globally.
Director Mani, who produces films in Malayalam and Tamil took to direction with Vishwaguru, says the story idea occurred to him during a visit to the pilgrimage centre Sivagiri Mutt.
Writing the screenplay began on December 27, 2017, and shooting was done simultaneously with on the spot editing, ensuring the release of Vishwaguru on December 29, 2017.
Mani credits the achievement to right planning and good execution by a supportive cast and crew team. Newcomers include Purushothaman Kainakkara, Gandhiyan and Chacha Sivaraman.
