The ship that never sinks

 

“It is one ship that never sinks,” says Shabareesh Varma from the Premam team. “If you take any movie industry, you can see that the friendship theme has been a big hit. For instance, in all Charlie Chaplin movies, the crew was the same. One positive side of movies made by friends is that the final output will be bigger than others. Perhaps fivefold,” he adds.

 

Shabareesh, Alphonse, Nivin, Krishna Sankar aka Kichu and other crew of Premam grew up together dreaming cinema and that passion is reflected on screen, making the movie a blockbuster hit. “In Premam, if Nivin, Kichu and I had come from different backgrounds, it would have been difficult for us to bring this output. We would have had to do many rehearsals to get a good result. But, since we knew each other from college days, it was easy for us to bring that chemistry on screen. We did no rehearsals, except for the dance sequence, because we knew what was in the other person’s mind. We even improvised some dialogues,” he says. Ask him his take on the acceptance of friendship theme, he says, “Friendship is a part of nature. You can see that everywhere. People will never get tired of watching it.”

 

According to Basil Joseph, his friends are his backbone in cinema. His debut movie Kunjiramayanam has the same technical crew of his short films. “I wanted my short film friends to be a part of my feature film too. They have been my support,” he says. “It was Aju ettan who introduced me into movies. During the time of Thira, I became close to Vineeth ettan, Dhyan and Deepak. More than friendship, I have a brotherly love and respect for Vineeth ettan. Dhyan agreed to be a part of this project due to his rapport with me. I got Neeraj as a friend when I acted in Homely Meals. Those whom I know in the film industry are there in my movie,” he adds.

 

In his opinion, it is the positive vibe among friends that translates onto the screen, when they work with friends. “Everyone will put their maximum effort as they consider it as their own film. During our shoot, we had a lot of funny moments. We used to dance to some fast numbers during leisure time and Vineeth ettan had told me that it was a new and refreshing experience for  him. That is the magic of friendship,” says Basil.

 

For Prajith G, director of OVS, working with peers gives him freedom to express his opinion. “When friends work together, there won’t be room for ego and pressure. If there is anything wrong, we can point out without hesitation. During the shoot of OVS, if I made a mistake, they would tell me so, sometimes through a joke. We won’t feel any strain during the shoot,” says Prajith.

 

The OVS team had delayed their shoot for the convenience of their friends. “Jomon and Nivin were busy with other projects. We waited for six months. The best part of working with friends is that we know their mindset and tastes,” says Prajith. “Friendship enhances team work. I wish to do my next movie too with the same team,” he says.