Beyond religions
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M. P. Sukumaran Nair’s ‘Ramanam’ is based on Punathil Kunhabdullah’s award-winning novel ‘Smarakashilakal.’
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Spirit of harmony: ‘Ramanam’ has Jagathy Sreekumar playing the lead role of Pookkoya Thangal.
Serious cinema is his forte and director M.P. Sukumaran Nair is at it again with ‘Ramanam,’ based on Punathil Kunhabdullah’s award-winning novel ‘Smarakashilakal.’
The film, which was shot in Thalassery, has Jagathy Sreekumar playing the protagonist and the cast includes Indrans, Jayakrishnan, Anoop Chandran, Margi Sathi, Revathi and Manju Pillai.
Sukumaran Nair, an alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India, has directed films like ‘Aparahnam,’ ‘Kazhakam,’ ‘Shayanam’ and ‘Drushtantham.’ He believes that the structure and language of books and films are quite different and as a result, it is better to adapt the stories as per the requirement of the medium.
“I’ve taken the essence of the novel and made it into a film with suitable changes,” says Sukumaran Nair.
Social issues
He adds: “‘Ramanam’ deals with social issues and shows the strength of coexistence that once prevailed among people following different religions. What attracted me to the story was how Pookkoya Thangal (played by Jagathy Sreekumar), a Muslim, decides to raise the son of a Hindu woman who died in his household, along with his daughter.
“The story has been developed from this point on. Later on, he sends his daughter, Pookkunjeebi, to learn traditional temple art forms.” The storyline is set in the early Seventies to the early Nineties. Kunjali, Thangal’s adopted son, learns medicine. Although Pookkunjeebi has learnt Nangiarkoothu, she is not allowed to perform in the temple.
Touching upon the plight of serious cinema in Malayalam, Sukumaran Nair says: “There is no point blaming the audience for it. It is the lack of enough medium to reach out to them that poses the real problem. We have been discussing various aspects like mini-theatres and film societies but all these facilities rarely materialise. It has been so all along and still we had some great films that happened in our language.”
‘Ramanam,’ is being made under the banner of Rachana Films. Cinematographer is K.G. Jayan.
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