Rags-to-riches story
VIJAY GEORGE
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Rafi-Mecartin’s ‘Love in Singapore’ promises to be a laugh riot.
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Humourous take: (left to right) Salimkumar, Rafi, Mammootty, Bijukkuttan and Nedumudi Venu on the sets of ‘Love in Singapore.’
Cinematographer Sanjeev Sankar is busy arranging the lighting for the next shot as director duo Rafi and Mecartin take a break on the set of their new movie ‘Love in Singapore.’
The movie stars Mammootty in the role of ‘Machu,’ an orphan who became rich by selling scrap. The location for the day is a large hall at a bottle recycling factory in Kochi.
“Machu starts off rather humbly but soon gets rich. Now his scrap business has branches all over India. Machu, who is uneducated, keeps a low profile and prefers to hang out with his two sidekicks, Shukkoor (Salimkumar) and Narayanan (Bijukkuttan).
A chance meeting with Andrews Perreira (Nedumudi Venu), a high-flying businessman based in Singapore, changes Machu’s life for ever. Perreira invites him to Singapore to start a dealership and before long Machu develops a flair for international business,” says Rafi and Mecartin, about the storyline, as they wait for the shoot to to begin.
Success formula
The duo believe that their strength is in telling credible stories with lots of humour. “We try to generate laughs from the story itself and not add extra scenes to deliberately create comic situations,” says Rafi, about their formula for success.
Soon the shoot begins. Salimkumar and Bijukkuttan are in a heated argument with Jayasurya, who is playing a guest role in the film. “My role is part of the sub-plot of the movie, in which my character mires himself in a whole lot of confusion. Other than that I am not supposed to talk more about my role,” smiles Jayasurya.
Things really pick up at the location as Mammootty comes in. After exchanging pleasantries he changes into his character’s costume. The next shot is of Machu checking the accounts, sitting at his table in the corner as one of his aides rush in. In the first take itself Rafi okays the shot and then goes in for the close-ups.
Cosmopolitan girl
Tamil and Telugu actor Navneet Kaur is the heroine in the film. She plays the role of Perreira’s daughter Diana. “The character comes from a rich family and has lived in Singapore. So we decided to go for someone who looks cosmopolitan,” says the director duo regarding their choice.
Apart from Kochi, the other locations for ‘Love in Singapore’ are at Karaikudi and Singapore. It has been produced by Rafi, under the banner M.H.M. productions. Lyrics of Rajeev Alumkal and Santosh Varma have been set to music by Suresh Peters. Still photographer is Sunil Guruvayur. ‘Love in Singapore’ will hit theatres on January 23.
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