Award-winning ‘Ivan Megharoopan’ arrives

The waiting is over for ‘Ivan Megharoopan’, the film which bagged the maximum number of state film awards, to reach the screens. The whole team behind the project is excited over the awards announced last week and the subsequent release. The film bagged the awards for the second best film, music director, editor and the dubbing artist(female) in a close race. “I personally take the awards as just another thing,” says writer and director P Balachandran rather philosophically. “The film is a team work. I was behind the project for more than three years. Though many had rejected the venture, Bare was confident and we could also rope in reputed technicians”, he says about the crew which includes Rajeev Ravi, director of photography, Prakash Moorthy, art director and Vinod Sukumaran, editor.

The film produced by Prakash Bare, Gopa Periyodan and Thampi Antony is loosely based on the  unconventional and extravagant celebration of life  of  P Kunhiraman Nair, one of the greatest writers in Malayalam.

“I started off as one of the producers. But it was Balettan (Balachandran) who prompted me to take the lead role. It was a lifetime chance and I accepted. The biggest award came when ONV Kurup appreciated me after watching the preview. The contribution of Prakash Moorthy is very high as his graphic depiction helped me to conceive and essay the role in a convincing manner”, says Bare.

In the film the lovable bard has a company of  a number of belles including Padmapriya, Shwetha Menon, Remya Nambeesan Anu and Jajapriya. Jagathy Sreekumar, Thampi Antony, V K Sreeraman, Chembil Asokan and Gopu Kesav also appear in notable roles. The award winning music by Sharreth to the songs penned by ONV and Kavalam is a already a hit with nearly 2 million hits in the cyberspace. As a novel initiative in Malayalam filmdom, the movie comes out with an interactive app available for free download on Google Play, which has tit-bits about the making, cast and crew, the synopsis of the film and even a list of theatres where the film is being screened with show times. “At a later stage the app will also allow users to book tickets through the mobile phone and also rate the film and the performances,” says Bare, an IT entrepreneur who holds a postgraduate degree in microelectronics from IIT, Kanpur.

“Normally it is the film makers who underestimate the viewers. In fact they are more creative and sensible. They could sense the good and the bad and would accept or reject a product based on the quality,” says the director who leaves ‘Ivan Megharoopan’ to the viewers for their verdict.