Suspense and mystery
VIJAY GEORGE
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‘SMS’ combines comedy, action, romance and suspense.
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Youthful theme: The title of the film ‘SMS’ was suggested by Ilayaraja. Bala, left, plays the lead in it.
“It has defied conventions, proved that small is beautiful and effectively replaced long lines conveying emotions with cute one-liners,” says director Sarjulan about ‘SMS,’ the acronym for ‘Short Message
Service.’ He thinks SMS is one of the most important trends that has influenced the old and the young in recent times. No wonder, he has chosen ‘SMS’ as the title of his film, the shooting of which is going on now.
“In fact, when we narrated the youthful theme, the title of the film was suggested by music director Ilayaraja,” says Sarjulan, who had earlier directed the film ‘Madamma’.
‘SMS’ has Bala and Navya Nair in the lead. The cast includes Mukesh, Jagathy Sreekumar, Jayakrishnan, Anoop Chandran and Salim Kumar.
The location for the day is a hall on the FACT factory premises near Kochi. As the crew members get ready to start the day’s shoot, the director makes some last minute corrections in the script.
Two sections
Says the director: “We are telling a story that has comedy, action, romance and suspense in it. There are two main parts in the story, one unfolds in a kind of a retreat centre called ‘Athmajyothinilayam’ and the next on a college campus. The second part is a flashback.
“The film has an element of suspense and more details about the film might kill that suspense.”
Almost an hour later, the shooting begins with Mukesh, who is playing an IPS officer called Robert Mathew. The scene shows him entering a college staff room.
“My character is a calm and cool officer with a sharp mind. He is never irked even when has to face tough situations,” says Mukesh, as he waits for cinematographer M.D. Sukumaran and his assistants to arrange the lights for the next shot.
Bala, who has dropped in for some discussions with the director, feels that his work in ‘Kalabham’ and ‘Big B’ have gained him acceptance in Malayalam films. Jayakrishnan, who made his entry into films with Kamal’s ‘Manju Poloru Penkutti,’ is a member of Bala’s gang in the college.
“My character is called Satheeshan and he enjoys his life in the college to the hilt,” says Jayakrishnan. ‘SMS’ is being produced by O.V. Prasannan, who has also written the story, under the banner of Kichan Movie Arts. Stills are by Mahadevan Thampi.
The cinema will be released during Deepavali.
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