Dhyan’s a chip off the old block
Following in the footsteps of his dad and brother, Dhyan Sreenivasan is making his debut as a director
By : aravind k.s.
Update: 2015-11-22 23:12 GMT
For Dhyan Sreenivasan, cinema is a part of his life. Born to writer-filmmaker Sreenivasan, he got enough chances to get acquainted with celebrities and technicians from the industry. Though he had a dream to become a film director, he never knocked at the doors of any of them in order to get a smooth entry.
Dhyan, who entered the industry as an assistant director and later become an actor, is now debuting as a director. The actor has started the pre-production works of his film.
“It was when I was studying in Class XI that I decided to pursue my career as a filmmaker. But I did not want to get an easy entry. I was ready to dedicate time to study about film and how a film is being produced, by working in various departments,” says Dhyan.
Though he could visit various film sets from his childhood, it was while working as an assistant director for his maternal uncle M. Mohan, who is noted for directing Kadha Parayumbol and Manikyakallu, Dhyan could understand more about the production phase of a film.
“The first feature film I assisted was 916. There I got chance to work from the pre-production stage till the post production. I did not get any special treatment in the sets and that benefited me a lot. Hence I could look after the costume continuity and clap till the script copying in the film, as an assistant director,” says Dhyan.
“It was after that film that I got the call from ettan (Vineeth Sreenivasan) to act in his directorial — Thira. That film’s work started hardly six months after 916. Though I was selected as an actor in that film, I was free to assist ettan. He assigned me to write dialogues in a scene too,” he recollects.
When quizzed about whose films influenced him a lot to take it as a career, whether his father Sreenivasan or his brother Vineeth, he says “Of course, achan. It was through him that I learnt about filmmaking and movie industry. He does not talk to us about the industry, but we could understand from his friends and his usual talks. That helped me to zero in whether to pursue a career in the industry or not,” says Dhyan, who dreams to enter the industry with a rom-com.
“It is my favourite genre and that’s why I decided it should be the genre of my debut film too. We have started the works and it is in the initial stage. Deepu Pradeep, who has written the script of Kunjiramayanam, is the writer. Though I have shared the idea of this project with a hero in the industry, as of now, I am keen on locking the final script. Such works will begin from this February and I hope I could release the film in 2017,” says the actor, who has recently wrapped up the shoot of Adi Kapiyare Koottamani (AKK) in which he essays the protagonist role.
“It was during the shoot of Kunjiramayanam that I first heard about AKK, through our Chief Associate director Dipil Dev. Later, after the shoot of Kunji…, through Vijay Babu chettan, the producer of the AKK, John Varghese came and narrated me the script. I liked the concept and the script. I am donning the role of Bhanuprasad, a college student in the film,” says the actor who gives importance to his friendship.
“I was more comfortable in working with Aju Varghese and Neeraj Madhav, who are my friends and my co-stars in the previous film. I knew Aju ettan from past 10 years as my brother’s collegemate and Neeraj was in my Chennai-based friends circle, even before our entry into films,” sums up the actor, who is all set to join the sets of Vineeth’s film Jacobinte Swargarajyam as an assistant director.
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