Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

On the theme of motherhood

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It may be after a long gap that Malayalam cinema is witnessing a film with a female character playing the central role, but Ashok R. Nath, director of Mizikal Sakshi, insists that the choice was not deliberate.

The movie has veteran actor Sukumari donning the key role of a dumb woman ‘Kuniyamma’ and actor Mohanlal as her son in a guest role.

The movie is a representation of the attitude of society towards motherhood in general and the concept of motherland in particular.

“The choice of Sukumari as the main character of the movie had more to do with the storyline of the film than any conscious attempt to use a female lead,” Mr. Nath told mediapersons here on Sunday in connection with a meet-the-press organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club with the artistes and production staff of the film that hit cinemas across the State on June 20.

“The day I received the spark for the story, I had only one actor in my mind — Sukumari Chechi,” Mr. Nath said.

So what did the actor, famous for her garrulous and vivacious reel-life image think about her verbally challenged character? “It was good that I was playing the role of a dumb woman. Otherwise I would have been very talkative,” said Sukumari on a lighter vein.

The response so far had been encouraging enough. Even V.R. Das, producer, whose expectation regarding the commercial success of the film by his own admission was only 50 per cent before the release was now anticipating a much better performance. “The movie is a product of our collective effort. We managed to save a lot of money due to the public support we received while shooting,” he said.

Script Writer Anil Mukundan described the film as a “truthful story” imbuing nationalistic spirit and fervour. “Initially some people had expressed their reservations that the storyline might create communal problems. But we refused to make any changes.” According to him, the movie depicts an honest presentation of contemporary realities.

The film also has actors Krishna Prasad, Nedumudi Venu, Jagathi Sreekumar, Vineeth, Kochupreman and Vijayaraghavan as part of the cast.

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