Antakshari, mostly known to be a harmless little game of songs (listeners may disagree), now appears to have a whole new dangerous side. It took Vipin Das, a filmmaker from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, to find that the game could bring horror, make songs that were once dear to you appear scary. Delighted with this discovery, he wrote a movie about it and called it Antakshari. Casting Saiju Kurup, an actor known for handling all sorts of characters with ease, in the lead, Vipin is releasing the film on OTT platform SonyLIV, on April 22.
“It is not that I have written an unusual story. It is the story’s treatment that is unusual and that’s what I always go for,” Vipin tells TNM in an interview ahead of the release. Antakshari is a game people know and mostly love, but what if it evoked a different emotion in you, he asks. That was the thought that drove him to write the script six years ago.
The script changed thrice in six years, he says. “This is apart from the many drafts for each version. But I felt the first script was outdated after a little while, then worked on a second script and felt the same. I learn and adapt with time and this is the third script that’s finally out,” he says.
Vipin also learned what to do and what not to, from his earlier works. He began with ad films and shorts, even then clear in his mind that he would not assist another filmmaker, for that might put him on a more traditional path. Vipin knew he had to make different sorts of films, mixing up patterns one wouldn’t think of. His first feature film Muthugauv was about killing an underworld don with a kiss.
“Every don is killed but how differently can you kill him – that was my thought before making Muthugauv. And then I think of the problems and challenges it can pose and work on that. In Antakshari, the idea was that songs can give rise to a different emotion than happiness or sadness. I like to mix and match,” Vipin says with a chuckle.
Watch: Trailer of Antakshari
From the trailer, you can figure out so much. Saiju Kurup is seen as a cop who likes to sing and play Antakshari. Somewhere in the middle of the trailer, the happy faces change, the music changes and it is no longer smooth sailing. Vipin hasn’t used new songs for the film. “They are all familiar Malayalam songs that people like. But perhaps the next time they hear it [after watching the film] they may feel differently about it,” he says.
There is no back story to the idea, he says. He was not playing Antakshari with a bunch of friends when the idea crossed his mind. “I love music a lot, and listen to Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil songs. But I can’t sing, so I’m not much of an Antakshari player,” he says.
One of the first persons he showed his script to is Jeethu Joseph, the famous director of the Drishyam series. Jeethu, known and loved for his thrillers, was impressed, and the two directors had plans of working together. “But that didn’t happen. Later, when he saw the film, he was very happy to let us put his name in it,” Vipin says.
Jeethu became the presenter of the film. The producers – Sulthan Brother’s Entertainments – stood with Vipin through everything, he says. “But we are not big names. Neither is this a superstar film. So we were not sure if it would attract an audience in the theatres. It is also not a typical family subject and is A-certified. That’s why we decided to release it on OTT,” Vipin adds.
Vipin Das
He had narrated the story to several actors but not everyone could connect to it, he says. Saiju Kurup did and he was game for it. Other actors who are part of the film are Priyanka Nair, Binu Pappu, Vijay Babu, Sudhi Koppa, Sabareesh Varma, Ishita Singh, Jenny Palath and Kottayam Ramesh. “Not every actor knows the full story, it is not an easy one to communicate. You have to watch the film to understand,” the director says, smartly building more suspense.
He has more novel ideas. The film is only two hours long but he had shot much more. Says Vipin, “I have cut the remaining 1.5 hours into six short episodes, which can be brought out as a series later.”
He is already into the pre-production of his next film, Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey, with Darshana Rajendran and Basil Joseph in the lead. “It is a woman-oriented satire touching on the day-to-day effects of patriarchy that a woman faces. There is no preaching, but it is again meant to bring out a new emotion – either laughter for those who hold high political and social values, or else shame,” Vipin says.