The boy who grew up among scripts

While going through the rough drafts of his father’s scripts, Vineeth Sreenivasan, who was a college student then, would have never thought that those would turn out be very valuable lessons in his life.

Years later, he went on to be a singer, actor, voice artiste before deciding to try his hand in script and direction. Only then did he realise the impact of his exposure to his father’s works.

Vineeth was free to read the scripts written by actor-turned-writer-director Sreenivasan at their home in Chennai. “Achan used to leave his scripts on his table and when he was not at home, I used to read those. Sometimes, it was a rough draft, sometimes, the final one.”

“From those scripts, I could understand what changes could happen on a script, from its rough draft to the final output,” says Vineeth. Though Vineeth could not visit the shooting locations of the films scripted by Sreenivasan, he was free to ask him doubts. “Achan used to clear our doubts if we ask him. During the writing session of Udayananu Tharam, he used to tell me the scene details whenever I asked him. Even during the scripting of my debut directorial venture Malaravadi Arts Club, I used to narrate him my script. After hearing that, he used to track down errors in the scene construction and suggest how to rectify them,” says the singer-turned-director, who still follows the principles he gained this way.

It was amid his busy schedule as writer-director that he played the lead in Kunjiramayanam, which is one of the top-grossers among the Onam releases. “It was last year, at the sets of Ormayundo Ee Mukham that my former assistant Basil and writer Deepu approached me with the script and gave me a copy. I read the full script only after wrapping up the shoot of Ormayundo Ee Mukham. With a realistic storyline tinged with light humour, it struck a chord instantly. I was sure that it would bring back a film genre Malayali audience was missing,” Vineeth says.

The fact that most of the cast and crew of Kunjiramayanam had earlier been associated with Vineeth made the shoot very comfortable. “It was fun as I was acting with my brother (Dhyan Sreenivasan) and friends. We were totally at ease with each other. More than that, at the sets of a film, an actor has to trust the writer and the director,” says Vineeth, who feels that an actor is supposed to jell with the makers to get a good output.

“If we (actors) interfere with the work of the director, it will affect his focus. Naturally it would affect our confidence too,” he adds. It was during the pre-production of Thira that Basil approached Vineeth to assist him. “I knew Basil even before. I had watched his short films. Following his request to assist me, we met at Besant Nagar Beach in Chennai and I found that he could have a good rapport with us,” he says.

“I like to work with people who are ready to concentrate on the project they are working on. Only then can he contribute and study from the ongoing project. But now-a-days, a section of people who join as assistants would have their mind in their own future project while working on a film. Fortunately, all those who came to me — Basil, Jude Anthany Joseph, Ganesh, Prejith chettan, Baby chettan — all were very dedicated,” says Vineeth, who is now busy with the scripting of his next film. “It is a family subject set against the backdrop of a Gulf country. As I am still working on the script, other details cannot be divulged now,” he says.