The scriptwriter in white

Dr Jiss Thomas Palukunnel, a paediatrician at KIMS Hospital, Kottayam, never dreamed of cinema until he did the awareness short movie Realisation that discusses the importance of vaccination. The movie that talks about the demise of two children due to diphtheria became viral when a similar incident happened in northern Kerala. “We did that as an awareness video for the paediatric association because in certain areas, especially in Malabar, people were reluctant to take the vaccination,” says Dr Jiss. “It got shared as similar incidents happened in Malabar post the release of the movie on YouTube. That was the trigger. It boosted my confidence. I realised I could write for a movie and decided to go ahead with other ideas,” he adds.

He then did five other short films including the award-winning Baby the Turtle, which talks about the lives of children of separated parents.  

A still from Amigos

Jiss wrote for commercial short movies too. Now, he is excited as his debut feature film — Amigos — with prominent actors like Krishna Shankar, Jude Anthany Joseph, Sabareesh Varma and Manoj Guinness has started rolling. “It is the story of four friends. The day before the wedding of one of them, they all go for a trip, which forms the crux of the movie. They travel on a Hartal day in an old 1986 Premier Padmini car from Kochi to Idukki. The movie is all about what happens during that journey,” says Jiss. The female leads are newbies Ann Paul and Athira Madhav. Other cast members include Devan, Noby, Sheelu Abraham, Sheejo Kurian and Mukundan Menon.

The movie is directed by Kiran R. Nair, the doctor’s friend. “It represents today’s youth. We started working on it two years ago. It is a feel-good movie. The shooting is progressing at Aluva, Varappuzha and Idamalayar,” says the doctor-turned-writer, who has no cinema background.

“The success of Realisation gave me confidence. During my college days, I used to write scripts for skits. That also helped,” says the doctor, who dreams of pursuing both medicine and cinema in parallel.

KT01/19