The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Mohanlal calls for films like Paradesi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Mohanlal calls for films like Paradesi

Staff Reporter

Photo: S.Mahinsha

Movie matters: Mohanlal addressing a press conference at the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club on Tuesday. Director P.T. Kunhumohammed is also seen. -

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The role of ‘Moosa’ in the film Paradesi is one that I will always cherish. The making of films such as Paradesi is vital for the survival of good cinema, actor Mohanlal has said.

He was speaking at a press conference at the Press Club, here on Tuesday. It was only after acting in the movie that he realised the depth of the character.

“It is not often that an actor gets to play a character that is shown from the age of 12 to 85 in the movie. A film can be made in two ways. One is to make a movie expecting it to become a hit or to get an award. The second way is to make a good movie and not care what happens at the box office,” Mohanlal said. “Initially, I asked PT sir, are there such people in real life?... When we held a promotional event for the movie at Kozhikode, people like Moosa came to the venue. They narrated how difficult it was in their old age to go somewhere and sign each month. They told us that it would be the greatest thing in their lives if at least now they could get citizenship,” he said.

That Paradesi did not find a place in the Indian Panorama list is of no consequence. A film such as this cannot be made with an award in mind, he added. The film’s director P.T. Kunhumohammed said Paradesi was the fruit of hard work spanning four to five years. The shooting was completed over a year. “There were times when the project looked set to fail. On one such occasion I had booked tickets to Rajasthan to go scouting for locations. My wife asked me why I was going. This film is the tale of those who were uprooted from their own land, the story of the impact on Kerala of the partition… I have tried to keep the film’s narrative very simple, so that even a common man can understand it. If a viewer does not understand the movie, it is entirely my fault,” he explained.

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