‘Oru Second Class Yatra’, a train saga
The Malayalam comedy thriller was almost entirely shot on a train
When was the last time a Malayalam film was filmed completely on a moving train?
The film that immediately comes to mind is the Joshy-directed Mohanlal film, No 20 Madras Mail.
Dileep’s Passenger, also picked up steam on a train journey, but then became a road movie.
Here comes Oru Second Class Yatra, a film that was mostly shot on Parasuram Express, and is about the journey undertaken by two criminals and their two police escorts.
Directed by debutants Jaxson Anthony and Rejis Antony, this comedy thriller has Vineeth Sreenivasan and Chemban Vinod in the lead.
Close buddies, Jaxson and Rejis have assisted directors Thampi Kannanthanam, Anwar Rasheed and Shaji Kailash.
“Vineeth plays Nandu, a village lad, who is quiet by nature. Nandu is one of the criminal being escorted on the train,” said Jaxson.
“Maren is a contrast to Nandu. He is a tough crook and talkative too.”
Chemban Vinod plays Maran.
Nandu and Maran are being shifted from Kannur prison to Trivandrum central jail. According to the law, three police officials should escort two criminals while they are travelling, but the ASI deputed for this journey is not able to make it and he entrusts the responsibility to two police constables.
“These two policemen are batch mates but do not see eye to eye on anything,” explained Rejis.
Sreejit Ravi is cop Balu, winner of the Best Cadet prize and an honest policeman. Jolly Kurien, the other cop is not an honest guy. Jojo plays Jolly Kurien.
Woven into the plot is a family drama with Nikki Galrani as Vineeth’s onscreen sister. Veteran actor, Nedumudi Venu will be seen in a role that he has not explored before.
Rejis said, “The story touches a sensitive issue that is universal.”
For the two friends, the idea for this story came up from an incident narrated by a common friend who worked in the police services. Several characters in this story have been drawn from life, added Rejis.
Oru Second Class Yatra was shot in real locations, namely Kannur prison and Trivandrum jail, besides stations enroute the Parasuram Express. The film releases in the UAE on July 9.
