Shekhar Kapur's Comments Are An Enormous Confidence-Booster: Dileesh Pothan

By Shevlin Sebastian

Photos: Dileesh Pothan by Albin Mathew; a scene from 'Thondimuthalum Drikshakshiyum'

On the sets, at Kottayam, of an Amal Neerad film, actor/director Dileesh Pothan watched the live telecast of the National Film Awards on his mobile. His film 'Thondimuthalum Drikshakshiyum' won for Best Malayalam Film, Best Supporting Actor (Fahadh Faasil) and Best Screenplay (Sajeev Pazhoor). “I knew my film was up for awards in a few categories, but who can predict the result?” he said, by phone from Kottayam. “So, it was nice to know it had won so many.”

But Dileesh was taken aback when Jury chairman and acclaimed film-maker Shekhar Kapur spoke at length about his film. “It’s a brilliant film, it’s a beautiful film and brilliant performances, and not only that, it starts you thinking the film is about something… a simple film,” said Shekhar. “It is a love story of a husband and wife, they elope. But she loses a chain in the bus, somebody snatches it off her neck and that chain is expensive and she had left home with that one chain. She goes to the police station. That’s when the chain of events starts. In the end, you are left terrorised.”

A moved Dileesh said, “I am just two movies old. And to think that an eminent filmmaker like Shekhar Kapur spoke so much about my film, it was an enormous confidence-booster for me. It is also a great inspiration. And I will try my best to make my next film better than 'Thondimuthalum'.”

In fact, Dileesh has already started work on the draft of a script. “My method is that when I hear a story and if I like it, then I work closely with the scriptwriter, in this case, it is Syam Pushkaran, to develop it till it reaches a stage where I am satisfied with it,” said Dileesh. “This takes about a year. So I am hoping to start shooting in 2019.”

Meanwhile, not many people will remember that Dileesh's previous film 'Maheshinte Prathikaaram' (2016) also won the 'Best Feature Film in Malayalam' and 'Best Original Screenplay' at last year's national film awards.

And not many people will know that soon after 'Thondimuthalum Drikshakshiyum' was released last year, on June 30, Dileesh received a Whatsapp message, which was forwarded by Fahadh. The message read: “Please congratulate the director for me. Wonderful to see such talent flourishing.” The sender was none other than another critically-acclaimed director Mani Ratnam. 

Dileesh Pothan, take a bow! 

(The New Indian Express, Kerala editions)