It is Shine Tom Chacko’s first horror movie. Pretham Undu Sookshikkuka, his latest outing is a horror comedy and surprisingly Shine, who plays the lead, says he is afraid of horror movies and stories. “The fear had been in my mind since childhood. But, I deliberately watched horror movies thinking that it would help me get rid of fear. However, the fear grew up with me and at one point I decided to stop watching horror movies and listening to horror stories,” he says laughing.
Manichithrathazhu is one movie that still sends chills down his spine. “The movie has no ghost or graphic elements to scare us. But, there are certain situations that would haunt us,” says Shine.
Shine is ‘Ethics Babu’
“A technically advanced horror movie may succeed in generating fear among the audience for some time. They may not be able to hold the attention of the audience in the long run. But, Manichithrathazhu still has the quality to keep the audience hooked. The sequence where Shobhana’s character changes into the alter ego is wonderful,” he adds.
Then, why did he choose a horror movie? “The set wouldn’t be that much scary, right?” he asks laughing. “We were surrounded by people and hence I was not afraid,” he adds.
The shooting took place at an abandoned building at Kappalandimukku in Mattancherry. “Like in the story, the place too has some interesting stories. It was fun shooting there with my fellow actors and comedians Pashanam Shaji and Harish Kanaran. It was not a hectic task. I just had to respond to them,” says Shine, who plays the character Ethics Babu in Pretham Undu Sookshikkuka.
There are two reasons behind this quirky name. “He is a person who helps friends. He doesn’t even mind fighting for them but there should be some ethics on their side. If the opponent is right, then he will fight for them,” explains Shine. “And, the name Babu is not tied to any religion. Everybody uses it. In the movie, a police station comes in the haunted building. Police is afraid of ghosts in the building. They seek Ethics Babu’s help and rest of the story revolves around that,” adds Shine, who also waits for the release of Tiyaan in which he acts alongside Prithviraj. Parava, Varnyathil Ashanka and Oru Kattil Oru Paayakappal are his other movies.
