Malayalam film Ee Ma Yau has won double honours at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), 2018. Filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellisery won the Silver Peacock Award for Best Director and actor Chemban Vinod won the Silver Peacock Award for Best Actor – Male.

A dark satire by writer PF Mathews, Ee Ma Yau revolves around the death of an old man whose devastated son runs helter skelter to get his dad a decent funeral as he wished. The film had also won Lijo Kerala State Award for Best Director.

Lijo’s and Chemban’s combination has earlier worked wonders when the two joined to make a film called Angamaly Diaries with 86 newcomers. Chemban made his screenwriting debut with the film that Lijo directed. Even otherwise, Lijo is known for his experimental themes. He made a film called Double Barrel with the Sukumaran brothers performing in a gangster comedy, another called Amen with Fahadh in the lead and which is a black comedy satire.

Chemban, an actor with a degree in physiotherapy, made his debut in the 2010 film called Nayakan, but rose to fame for his performances in movies like Tamar Padar, Iyobinte Pusthakam and Oru Second Class Yathra.  

Last year too, Malayalam cinema had a special place in the award list of IFFI when the film Take Off won two honours. Parvathy Thiruvoth Kottuvatta won the award for Best Actor – Female, for her performance in the film while Mahesh Narayanan, the director won Special Jury Award. Parvathy, in fact, became the first Malayalam actor to win the Silver Peacock at IFFI. Take Off tells the real life story of nurses from Kerala who are trapped in Iraq when war breaks out, and Parvathy plays a strong willed nurse who rises to the occasion, leading a group of women away to safety even as she doesn’t know if her family is safe.