A National Award-winning scenarist, a filmmaker who made his mark with his début film, an all-time favourite leading lady who is making a comeback, a bankable lead actor, a stellar line-up of character artistes, award-winning producers… Sathyam Paranja Viswasikkuvo?, which releases on July 12 has many aspects to look forward to.
Directed by G Prajith, who made the runaway hit Oru Vadakkan Selfie , and scripted by Sajeev Pazhoor, scenarist of Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum , the movie zooms into the lives of a group of masons.
Sajeev Pazhoor
Central characters are Suni (Biju Menon) and his wife, Geetha (Samvritha Sunil), who had eloped with him when he came to work at her house. Then there is Suni’s gang of friends-cum-coworkers comprising his uncle Karuppayi (Alencier Ley Lopez), Thamara (Sudhi Koppa), Prasad (Dinesh Prabhakar) and Shanavaz (Mangal). “As their lives moves on with laughs and squabbles, certain incidents throw their lives out of gear,” says Sajeev, without revealing more about the storyline.
Sajeev says that he spent many days with masons and interacted with them to know their lives up close. “They work hard and have a drink after the day’s work. We might get an impression that they are being reckless. But in reality they are very happy and enjoy every moment. They live in the present. Even when a married couple fight over the husband’s drinking habits, they still love each other. We have tried not to miss out on many such special moments,” Sajeev adds. Several real-life masons have also acted in the movie.
A still from ‘Sathyam Paranja Viswasikkuvo?’
The scenarist also points out that there aren’t any extraordinary incidents in the narrative. “This is a film meant for families. We have been able to execute the situations in the way we wanted. There is situational humour and we hope people will be entertained,” he says. So, what’s it about the title? “You can connect it to Suni. His nature is such that you can’t trust him easily until he emphasises that he is telling the truth,” Sajeev says.
As the conversation veers to Thondimuthalum… Sajeev asserts that Sathyam Paranja… is a new terrain altogether. “Whatever recognition I got for Thondimuthalum.. ends with that film and I shouldn’t be clinging on to that success for the rest of my career. I have to get out of that, otherwise that will become a liability. This film is of a totally different flavour and you can’t compare the two. Perhaps, the only similarity between the two is that this movie also takes up an issue that can happen in our lives,” he says.
Produced by Remadevi, Sandip Senan and Anish M Thomas, it was shot in parts of Kannur and Kozhikode. “However, the characters don't speak the dialect of the region," Sajeev adds.
Shehnad Jalal is the cinematographer and Ranjan Abraham the editor. Music is by Shaan Rahman and Viswajith and Bijibal has done the background score.
AN INTERESTING TALE
Sathyam Paranja Viswasikkuvo? was a project that was bound to happen, says G Prajith. “Sajeev and I have known each for years. We have been planning to do a project together for some time. Finally, Sajeev took the initiative to make it happen. When he narrated the story, I thought it was an interesting story to film,” says Prajith. He adds that situations in the movie have been kept real to complement the depth of the subject.
G Prajith
The director adds that Biju Menon's was the first name that came up as Sajeev developed the story. “And Samvritha just fit into the role of Geetha with her looks and body language,” he says.
Prajith gives full credit to his team for the way the film has turned out. “The credit to the success of my first film ( Oru Vadakkan Selfie ) should go to the people who worked with me. In fact, I have been working with some of them for many years before that. Whereas in Sathyam Paranja… I’ve collaborated with several new faces in front of and behind the camera. But there was tremendous support from all of them,” he says.
So, is he worried about proving his mettle again? “I believe that each film is an acid test for any director, whether it is his first or second or whichever number. We take a lot of strain and put in the same kind of effort in every project. The only thing I can do is make the project better,” Prajith says.
