Y. Sunita Chowdhary
Ani I V Sasi (son of legendary director I V Sasi) is a Malayali who has settled down in Tamil Nadu. He has right now wrapped up his debut Telugu film Ninnila Ninnila and that’s going through brisk post production works. There were talks that he would be directing Pranav Mohanlal’s first film but that isn’t true, he had written the script Marakkar – Arabikadalinte Simham for Pranav and it is directed by Priyadarshan. The movie was to release in March but it will be a bit late now. Ani is very articulate, confident and exudes clarity. There is no anxiety, at least he doesn’t sound or show it and is just keen on finishing the post production soon. In a chat with Klapbardpost.com, Ani says his parents initially didn’t want him to do films, they were keen on seeing him as a doctor. He also gives us a glimpse into the kitchen of Ninnila Ninnila where he made sure where there is inviting scenery, tasty tunes and a scrumptious cast and crew of buddies and colleagues.
“Film making is something I learnt from childhood. In the fifth standard, my father sat me down, was drawing frames on a paper and said ‘If you keep a 50 mm lens as at this length, you will get this range in an actor.’ I grew up like this. This is basically what I wanted to do all my life. I didn’t want to direct a film in Malayalam because of my father. We are different people, the way we think, the movies we want to make too is different. He was into political thrillers and my interest lies in light hearted stories and fantasy subjects. So people in Kerala want me to do something identical like what my father did. Father and I never spoke personal stuff, we would discuss new films that were released and what was that they had used for execution. I would always go to shoots, sit there and watch. He would only talk films if it meant a conversation. Mom is happy with my decision, I had to take over a lot of things after he passed away,” he recollects.
He further says, “I wanted to try all genres. I don’t understand politics so I avoid political films. Cinematographer Divakar Mani is a friend and at the beginning of this year we had Tamil and Malayalam films lined up. I was telling him scripts and I had around seven of them. He liked three out of those seven and suggested I narrate it to film makers in Hyderabad. One of them was Bapineedu; he was interested in doing this script and wanted to shoot in December. We shot in London and it was a very quick project. It is a love story based against a cooking backdrop and set in a five star kitchen.” Lot of films have been set up in a kitchen, how is this different? “Ashok Selvan plays a chef who is a genius in cooking and none know about it. He is an underdog in a restaurant and he has psychological problems that surface and have a resolution at a particular point in the film. First instance, you wonder what is happening, it gets intriguing and the journey turns interesting. Ritu Verma is the primary heroine and she will be there throughout and Nitya Menen is the backbone of the movie. The girls unwind him and bring the demons out of his mind,” he shares.
Ani wrote this story in a cold climate and wanted to shoot it in Kulu or Manali. The producer wanted it in London as he already shot his films Toil Prema, Mr Majnu, Nanaku Prematho there and was quite sentimental about the location. Ani went by that and it worked. The team was in London for a little over a month and shot 28 days, and five days in Hyderabad. It is more of a conversation film in the second half. He quips, “It has a lot of dialogues but it isn’t spoken but it is in the form of music and expressions.” Why did he choose Divakar Mani to handle the camera? They both worked as assistants to acclaimed craftsmen. Divakar was assisting Santosh Sivan and Ani was Priyadarshan’s assistant. They duo made a movie together and both Ani, Divakar happened to work and became friends. “We were second unit and quite compatible in setting up shots. He has been there since ideation and I don’t think anyone can understand better than him,” he remarks.
Ani talks about the ambience and mood and the music director of the film, “Most of the story happens in the kitchen and it happens during Christmas. The entire London is lit up in December and that brings warmth to the film but the weather makes it cold. Film is cold with warm influences here and there. We shot morning and nights, more of night shoots. A friend wanted to make a film with only two actors and I started ideating…later the other characters came in. Ninnila Ninnila represents two women and the chef’s perspective of the two women. I am very happy with the film. All the actors gave a lot more than I imagined.
Music is composed by Rajesh Murugesan who did Premam and Rajesh is very particular about the stories he works on. He will do it only if he truly loves it and he okayed it in two hours. The moment I narrated it he said he wanted to do it. Usually people watch the scenes and listen to the song and I told Rajesh that if they are not watching the visuals, they should sleep. That is the quality I sought in one number. In another song I wanted audiences to have butterflies in the stomach. I didn’t give any further instructions. The BGM for one song was with the cutlery sound in the kitchen. Will the film make you hungry or full by the end? It is a little bit of both..but ultimately you want to have more!.”
