Husbands in Goa — a romantic comedy
Saji Surendran’s next film, Husbands in Goa, is a romantic comedy featuring Indrajit, Jayasurya, Asif Ali, Lal, Bhama, Rima Kallingal and Remya Nambeesan. “The story revolves around a universal theme,” says Surendran, “on the relationship between husbands and wives, in this case about three couples and the frustrations the husbands have to deal with on account of their spouses. So the men lie in order to escape from their wives on a holiday to Goa, unleashing a cat and mouse chase,” said the 34-year-old director.
Indrajit plays an advocate with Rima Kallingal in the role of his wife. Jayasurya is paired opposite Bhama, while Asif Ali and Remya Nambeesan are the third couple. In Goa, they meet Lal, who plays an alcoholic. In his company the three friends enjoy the good things of life. As the story unfolds it brings new twists and turns.
The hit song, Pichakappoonkaavukalkku, from film No. 20 Madras Mail, has been remixed and sung by M.G. Sreekumar.
“A major portion of the film has been shot in a train with actor Innocent playing the same role he did in No. 20 Madras Mail,” said Surendran.
“From the first scene to the last scene, it is great fun,” added the director, who is a fan of Malayalam director Priyadarshan.
Vikram trains under echolocation expert Daniel Kish
Human echolocation expert Daniel Kish trained actor Vikram for his forthcoming Tamil film, Thaandavam, where Vikram plays a police officer who loses his sight.
Kish, founder President of World Access for the Blindthat works towards improving the lives of the visually challenged, was in Chennai this week.
“I actually portray me and my character in the film,” said Kish.
“Vijay [director, A.L. Vijay] allowed me to write my dialogues and modify my part of the script to better represent who I am and my work,” Kish said.
“Vikram was delightful to work with and very receptive to the training that I offered. Besides, he was helpful, this being my first experience as an actor in a first feature film.”
Asked what is echolocation, Kish, who lost his vision early and has been using this method for the past 45 years, said: “Echolocation is essentially the same process that a bat uses.
“It is a sense of hearing where you emit sound into the environment and sound reflects back. Sound carries patterns of surfaces from which it is reflected. The brain then uses information from these patterns to construct images of the environment. These images are based on sound rather than light and they contain information on shape, position, texture and density of objects around.”
Other members of the cast include Anushka Shetty, Amy Jackson and Santhanam.
Scheduled for a release on September 28 in India, the producers of the film have planned a special screening on September 27 at Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai to raise funds for the National Association for the Blind.
REVIEW: Naduvala Konjam Pakkatha Kanom — an unusual plot
Balaji Dharanidharan’s debut film, Naduvala Konjam Pakkatha Kanom (NKPK), is an interesting tale of one man’s temporary memory loss that happens exactly two days before his wedding.
A simple game of cricket played by four friends -- Prem, Saras, Baks and Bajji -- ends in a mishap when Prem misses a catch and falls down hitting his head. Despite no external or internal injury Prem goes through a temporary memory loss. He recognises his friends but does not remember the past, including his lover Dana. Prem’s wedding is scheduled the day after thus putting his friends in a real quandary. Do they inform his family and ruin the wedding? Or go ahead pretending all is well, especially since the doctor had reassured them that the memory loss was only temporary.
Vijay Sethupathy in the lead role as Prem has done full justice to his character with a subtle performance. Complementing the story are Vigneshwaran, Raj Kumar and Bhagawati Perumal as Prem’s friends. The strength of the film lies in its dialogues and screenplay written by the director. Clean humour in good measure is another plus.
Based on a real life incident from cinematographer Prem Kumar’s life, NKPK holds viewers attention with its simple and realistic narrative. NKPK shows that a good story can be told without item numbers, crude dialogues, violence and star cast. It’s one film not one to be missed.
