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Ibsen’s tale takes life on screen

KOCHI: A visibly emotional Mohanlal struggled for words when he recalled the praises showered by the late ‘Bharat’ Gopi after he watched K.P. Kumaran’s Akashagopuram on screen for the first time.

“He was seated next to me. After the movie was over, he touched my hands and told me that he saw playwright Ibsen in the movie.”

Based on the master playwright’s classic Master Builder, Mr. Kumaran’s Akashagopuram (The Castle in the Air) has Mohanlal and Gopi playing lead roles.

Mohanlal is Albert Samson, a middle-aged architect who has clawed his way to prominence while the late Gopi plays Abraham Thomas, Albert’s mentor and former employer.

“In a way, the movie is a tribute to the master actor ‘Bharat’ Gopi,” Mohanlal said here on Wednesday.

The actor also announced an endowment in memory of ‘Bharat’ Gopi at a press conference held prior to the premiere of the film. The endowment consisting of a purse of Rs. 51,000 will be given to the best new actor in the Malayalam industry.

Terming the portrayal of Albert Samson “challenging”, Mohanlal said the director Kumaran had the story in his mind for the past 20 years.

“It was a daring approach. As an actor, I am lucky to be part of the movie. The story has a complicated structure. I hope we have done justice to the play written by Ibsen,” he said.

Shot entirely in London, Akashagopuram is also a dream come true for the director. Saying that the essence and the power of the story was there with him for the past several years, Mr. Kumaran said the attempt was to narrate a script that was truly “universal”.

“What attracted me to the play was the intriguing psychological insights into human nature as well as the experiences of the characters in situations of conflict. That lifts the play from the level of mundane,” he said.

Akashagopuram will reach theatres on Friday.

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