Lijo the star again at Kerala Film Festival

A mad clamour for seats marked the premier of the filmmaker’s latest with Mammootty, which got glowing response, writes Arjun Raghunath

Lijo Jose Pellissery

Lijo Jose Pellissery’s latest Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (Like an afternoon dream), starring Mammootty, is unlike any other film from the maverick director’s oeuvre for it doesn’t have violence or profanity-filled dialogues. But the world premiere of the Malayalam film at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) was met with a thunderous response.

There was a mad rush from the film buffs, who were waiting for over a year to see the work of the dream combination of the legendary actor and the gifted filmmaker (Angamaly Diaries, Jallikattu).

The main venue of the 27th IFFK — Tagore Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram, witnessed a law and order issue ahead of the film’s screening. Fans, who could not enter the theatre despite waiting for hours in queue, staged a violent protest. Even a case for rioting was slapped against some people.

Post the screening, LJP, as Pellissery is popularly known, was showered with praises and compliments. He spoke about the shift in style in Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam. He gives the credit to writer S Hareesh, whose stories were used for his other films like Jallikkattu and Churuli.

“I didn’t entirely plan to make a different film. As a filmmaker, I just followed the character’s journey. Films get their strength from the written material. Hence, Hareesh has to be credited for the film’s quality,” Pellissery said, in his post-premiere interaction with viewers at the IFFK.

Jallikkattu, which was based on Hareesh’s story Maoist was selected as India’s entry to the Oscar awards under the Best International Feature Film Category in 2020.

IFFK venues are known for critical reception of films. But the initial response to Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam has been overwhelmingly positive. Some even termed it as a ‘landmark movie’. People even demanded LJP to hold more screenings of the film considering the demand for it.

Many also praised Mammootty for continuing to collaborate with new-generation filmmakers. “Pellissery is proving to be one of the best filmmakers of our times,” said Congress leader and MLA P C Vishnunadh.

Pellissery kept the spirit of his fans high by talking about his next big project, with another legendary actor: Mohanlal. “The project is in the discussion stage now,” he said.

Pellissery’s association with veteran stalwarts is a welcome change as he had been so far casting either new faces of non-superstars in his films.

Apart from being his first film with Pellissery, Mammootty has also co-produced the film under his banner Mammootty Kampany.

The film tells the story of James (Mammootty) who wakes from a siesta while traveling back from Velankanni, stops at a village in Tamil Nadu and starts behaving like a man missing from that village. Unlike his other popular movies that had fast moving long shots, Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam has more static frames.

Forty-four year old LJP, who is the son of late Malayalam actor Jose Pellissery, has added some nostalgic elements to the film. A theatre company vehicle that appears in the film has the name ‘Sarathy Theatres’. “Sarathy Theatre was the theatre company in which my dad was a partner. During my childhood, we used to go to Velankani in the vehicle of that troupe. Hence that name was given to the vehicle in the film,” he said.

LJP, who debuted as filmmaker with Malayalam film Nayakan in 2010, has directed ten films so far and also acted in a few movies. He has bagged 12 popular awards, including international film festival honours.