It was after giving up the engineering course midway that John Paul George moved to Thiruvananthapuram from Kottayam to pursue B.Sc in music at Swati Tirunal Music College. However while doing that course, he felt that he should pursue cinema. He figured out that it would be better choice. Now, John Paul is all set to come out with his debut directorial venture — Guppy — with Master Chethan and Tovino Thomas in the lead roles.
“It was in 2008 that I moved to Thiruvananthapuram, the city that gave many close friends including music director Vishnu Vijay and singer Sooraj Santhosh. In fact it was after seeing their performance that I realised that music is not my cup of tea,” he quips. Both of them have worked in the film too.
John Paul later moved to Chennai along with Vishnu and Sooraj and got an opportunity to assist Rajesh Pillai in his cult film Traffic. Later, he became an associate of Sameer Thahir. John Paul says he got the basic idea of the film even before he entered the industry as an assistant director. “When I was there in Panampilly Nagar in Kochi for a meeting, I saw some people depositing guppy — a variety of fish — in the sewage canal. It was the discussion based on that act that helped me pen a story based on a person who rears guppy.”
The film narrates the story of a small boy who is nick-named after the fish that he rears — guppy. “The film takes a turn following the arrival of Tovin’s Thejus Varkey. That is all I can reveal as of now,” says the director who is in Chennai for the final sound mixing of the film.
John Paul’s initial plan was to debut his career with another film that he had announced last year. “Unfortunately that project failed to take off. It was then that I decided to work on this story. Luckily, I got all support from the producers — E4 Entertainment — to go on with the new project, which does not have a superstar in the lead role. Instead of stars, I got a group of brilliant actors including Sreenivasan sir, Chethan and Tovino to essay prominent roles in the movie. I am really happy to hear that films without big stars also get theatres. More people come out and watch them at releasing centres,” John Paul said.
Guppy was shot in Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu. His Yopa Productions is also part of the project. The colony portions were filmed at Muttam in Nagercoil. “In fact that location was scouted for the film which failed to materialise. The same place was later used for Guppy. This coastal village is a beautiful location, where the sea is seen in perfect blue tone. Even the houses in that area have a special beauty. You can see all that in the film,” he said.
The film will reach the screens on August 5.
