Kerala Sahithya Akademi award-winner, Sreebala K. Menon, makes her directorial debut with Love 24x7 after assisting veteran Sathyan Anthikad for seven years.
The writer, whose debut novel, 19 Canal Road, won her the prestigious award for best humour, spoke to tabloid! about her journey into films.
What is Love 24x7 about?
This is a rom-com based on the lives of media professionals. Dileep plays a news presenter. It’s a clash between their professional and personal lives, especially for women professionals.
How was it working with Dileep?
Dileep is a director’s actor. When I first met him I told him that his character has been written to suit his image. I was surprised when he asked me, ‘If you mould your character to suit my image, why am I doing your film? I prefer transforming myself into your character.’ What more can a new director ask for? Dileep has not explored a news presenter earlier, although he has played a reporter in Calcutta News. Like film stars, news presenters are celebrities with a fan following. People watch them closely and they impress with their distinctive style of dressing and presenting news.
You went from writing to filming. What were the challenges?
This was a short story that I had written but not published. To turn it [into] a film, the challenge lay in making it emotionally touching with all logic intact. I also had to provide enough space for actors to bring out their performance and finally make it visually appealing.
What lessons did you learn under Sathyan Anthikad?
Ten years ago women directors in Kerala were little heard [of] and people were not open to the idea of women being scriptwriters. After proving myself as a writer, I wanted to try my hand in this medium. I approached Sathyan sir. He had heard about me and read my award-winning story. I joined him as assistant and sat with him for script discussions. After four films I became his associate. More than learning about films, I learnt to become a good human being. He gives ample freedom to everyone on the sets and despite making 50 odd films, his enthusiasm is undiminished.
