Coming soon: A 10-in-one Mollywood film

Mega experiment

 
The movie “Kerala Cafe” is scheduled to be premiered in the Middle East International Film Festival at Abu Dhabi on October 29, said Renjit here. The directors are Shaji Kailas, Lal Jose, B Unnikrishnan, Shyama Prasad, Anwar Rasheed, Revathy, Anjali Menon, M Padmakumar, Shankar Ramakrishnan and Uday Ananthan.

The short films which last between 10 and 15 minutes are based on the general thread of “journey” and its numerous connotations. Produced by Bangalore-based Backwater Media & Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the film lasts 140 minutes and is set against the backdrop of a railway station cafe. “Each of these films has been shot in a matter of three to four days and 80 pc of the artists have not charged fees,” Renjith said.

Almost all leading actors baring Mohanlal have acted in the short films. They include Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Prithviraj, Jagathy Sreekumar, Navya Nair and Swetha Menon.

Renjith said there were precedents of this model of filmmaking in French, English and even in Hindi. Director Shyama Prasad said the experiment was a new effort to get over the crisis that dogs the Malayalam film industry commercially and culturally. He said the directors were given total freedom in their work. “We have known names who have good box office appeal as well as those who churn out quality stuff. It is a mixture of both and hence should be a visual delight,’’ Renjit said. Backwater Media executive director Mohanlal P Menon and Renjit while politely refusing to spell out the production cost claimed that the movie is a low cost budget.