Narrative transportation is not an everyday experience unless you are friends with Kiron Prabhakaran. While listening to him speaking, one can visualise his narration, experience the feelings and premises of the story and get lost in it. It might be the same quality of narration that bagged him the Kerala State TV Award for best screenplay in 2010 for the teleserial Aranazhika Neram. For his first cinematic venture Elektra, he penned the script along with director Shyamaprasad. With his directorial debut Thakkol in the final stages of making, Kiron is all set to unlock his trademark charm of storytelling.
Thakkol, starring Indrajith and Murali Gopy in the lead roles, is a mix of mystery and satire. “The film is a journey along unpredictable human emotions unraveled through the life of two priests – one a foodie and one a former altar boy, a key that can unveil the mysteries in their lives. I can’t reveal much; I want everyone to experience the movie,” says the Thiruvananthapuram native, who says that he lost his way and accidentally reached filmdom.
Hailing from a family of art lovers, Kiron and his sister had been introduced to Kathakali at a young age. He also took after his mother and became a self-taught artist. A scroll down his Facebook page shows the brilliant artistic streak he possesses. “With a home full of bibliophiles, most of my literary discussions were with family more than friends. Since we stressed more on narration than writing, I was drawn towards stories since childhood. Later, I chose the academics route and taught at various colleges and universities. Meanwhile, I tried my hands at comics but with time, I realised that I had to focus on storytelling,” says the writer, whose wife Mini is the daughter of his guru and kathakali maestro Padma Bhushan Madavoor Vasudevan Nair.
For any debutant filmmaker, the toughest part is getting big names to his work. In Thakkol, Kiron has the Indran-Murali magical chemistry, ace director Shaji Kailas as the producer, Oscar-winning Resul Pookutty as the sound designer and M. Jayachandran setting the songs and background score. “I approached each one of them after locking the script. Had Indran and Murali found it inconvenient to allot dates, I would have postponed the film till they did. I had no other choice for the two characters. Commercial viability was nowhere in my thoughts. I respect the two actors for their subtlety in performance, and I think their chemistry shows well in the film,” he says.
Resul, his college mate from graduation years, interestingly, offered to work in Thakkol even before Kiron asked. Shaji agreed to produce the film as he was impressed by the story. The film also marks the acting debut of Shaji’s son Rushin, who portrays the childhood of Indrajith’s character. On music, he says, “The songs, heavily inspired by Medieval Era Christian music compositions, are tools of narrative. Jayachandran has done excellent research and great work. All of us had a great bonhomie while working in Thakkol.”
By all, he means the cast that include Nedumudi Venu, Ineya, Renji Panicker, Lal and Sudheer Karamana, and the crew comprising Alby Antony as the DOP, Siyan Sreekanth as the editor and Pradeep Rangan, the makeup artiste. The film, almost entirely shot in Goa, will hit the screens soon.
Winding up, Kiron says, “I have no huge claims about the film, which, I believe, have only one USP – the story.”
