Lensman's take of Kottayam

Binu Bhaskar, the cinematographer of the 2015 movie Lukka Chuppi, is the latest entrant in the list of DOPs-turned-directors. Binu has donned director’s hat with the crime drama Kottayam.

Kottayam revolves around the rape and murder case of a female police officer. Though it is yet to release, the movie has been selected to film festivals across the globe, the latest being the International Film Festival of Kerala. The movie also deals with land encroachment and gender issues.  “Though the movie mainly focuses on a rape case and land encroachment, we have talked about some other anti-social elements, too,” says Binu. “I have always been a fan of movies dealing with socio-cultural issues. So I wanted to include in the film certain issues being faced by contemporary society. I believe that it was a brave and different attempt. And the movie has a diverse cast.”  

The film falls under the neo-noir category and the narrative is non-linear. Binu believes the not-so usual style of storytelling will help him deliver the idea that he wants to convey effectively. “Indian films, especially those from Malayalam and Tamil industries, have been on a transformation mode for the past few years. There is a big change happening in terms of content and movie making style. So, this is a great time to experiment with your works,” Binu opines. 

He had an eminent team of actors working in the film, including Sangeeth Sivan, Aneesh G. Menon, Ravi Mathew, Annapoorni Devaraja, Nimmy Raphel, Nzabeni Kitan, Shafeeq, Praveen Premanth, Anand V. Karyattu and Sreenath K. Janardhanan. Binu also cranked the camera and co-wrote the script along with Sajith Narayanan for Kottayam.

Binu, according to his team, has a lot to offer to the Malayalam film industry. “Binu ettan should have started directing earlier. However, we are happy that he has debuted with a wonderful movie and I am happy to be part of it,” says Anand V. Karyattu, who has made acting debut with Kottayam. Though this is his first movie, Anand was part of Kuttanpillayude Sivaratri which released earlier. “I have done a few advertisements and modelling. I am glad I could start off my film career with Kottayam which is getting rave reviews at film festivals,” says Anand, who plays a crucial role in the movie.

Kottayam has already been screened at the Montreal World Film Festival, Delhi International Film Festival and the Australian Independent Film Festival. Binu says he has been receiving great response at the festivals. He also won the Best Cinematographer award.

Now, Binu and his team are waiting for the film to be screened at IFFK. They plan to release the movie by January.