Scripting a success story

"Three years," says Dr Iqbal Kuttipuram. "I had been working on the script of the film Arabikadha (Arabian Tale) for more than three years," says the scriptwriter of quite a few Malayalam movies that have broken records at the box office.

"I try hard to ensure that my movies do not have a set pattern," he says. "In fact, all the films I have scripted have fairly different themes.''

Gramaphone had music as its central theme; For The People had a set of discontented youth as its central focus; Swapnakoodu was a feel-good love story …

"But I wanted to do something different again and this time I decided to explore two issues that are very close to almost every Malayali's heart - communism and life as an expatriate,'' he says.

Dr Iqbal, who recently moved to Dubai from Kerala, in southern India, is a qualified homeopath who has a thriving practice in Karama. "One reason I came to the Gulf was to get to know the life of an expatriate better," he says.

"While I was in India, I remember meeting with a few of my relatives who used to come visiting from the Gulf. They used to tell me about their experiences here, but seeing and experiencing life of an expatriate first-hand is a lot different, he says.

"Having lived in Kerala, I, of course, know how deeply communism is ingrained in the minds of the people there. So, I wanted to explore how a man who was born and brought up in a typically communist surrounding would be able to survive in a cosmopolitan multicultural environment," he says.

"Once I had a fairly good idea of the storyline, I spoke to acclaimed actor-director Sreenivasan and he was very excited. He immediately agreed to act in the movie.'' Iqbal then approached Lal Jose, an established and successful director, with his story.

"Lal Jose liked it and soon the film-making process began,'' he says.

"You know the days preceding the screening of the film are some of the most tense in a film crew's life. To say that I was stressed out would be an understatement. I was eagerly awaiting the release date, but was also a trifle apprehensive.''

After all, a lot of money and the future of many people rides on a film.

"On the day of the release of Arabikadha, I and a small group of friends got together and waited for the news to break (of the initial response of the viewers). You see, nine out of ten times, the way the crowd reacts at the first day's first show is an indicator of the success of the movie,'' says Dr Iqbal.

"We have sources in various sectors - film distributors, theatre owners, people in the industry - who keep us updated on the reactions of the crowd during and after the screening of the movie. These people are vastly experienced in gauging the success of a movie.

"I was waiting with bated breath for the phone to ring from our sources. One of the first calls that came was from a friend of mine who is a theatre owner in Kerala. 'The crowds are good,' he told me, non-committally.''

Then a little later in the afternoon, the phones began to ring non-stop. "'People are loving it,' a theatre owner called to tell me. 'It looks like we have a hit,' distributors told us.'' More calls - from directors, the film crew …

"To be honest, more than joy, more than happiness, I was relieved,'' says Dr Iqbal. "Relieved that people had accepted the movie.

"But the call I still remember is the one I got from veteran film director Kamal. I have tremendous respect for the man. He told me, 'the film is really good'. That was the icing on the cake.

"I have worked with him on four movies and knew that if he thinks it is a good movie, then it will be a success.''

The hero of the movie is veteran Malayalam actor Sreenivasan, who plays the role of Cuban Mukundan -
a young man who grows up in Kerala with grand visions of communism being the panacea for all social problems.

But life has other plans for him. The movie traces the unexpected twists and turns in the protagonist's life.

Dr Iqbal is busy scripting his new film. This one is about a close-knit family and will have National Award-winning actor Mohan Lal playing the lead role.