Kalidas plays a Sikh in new film
‘Happy Sardar’ has a Punjabi family at loggerheads with a Malayali Christian family
Mythily Ramachandran brings you the latest in South Indian entertainment
Joishy Kochara, a Knanaya Christian and an NRI from Canada, was liberal enough to allow his three daughters to marry outside their community to a Hindu, a Muslim and a communist. But he is keen that his youngest daughter Mary marry a Knanaya Christian in the very same church that he was married in.
However, Mary is in love with a Sardar (man of Sikh faith), Happy Singh from Patiala.
Happy Sardar is a comedy that looks at the two families who get together for the wedding of Mary and Happy Singh. It is directed by husband-wife team Sudeep and Geethika and features Kalidas Jayaram and Merin Philip in the lead.
Sudeep is the son of filmmaker Joshy Mathews, known for his films Pathaam Nilayile Theevandy and the Indian National Award winner Black Forest. Geethika also hails from the industry — her father is producerdirector KC Chandrahasan. Sudeep
Merin Philip.
and Geethika have worked on ad films and documentaries and Happy Sardar is their first feature film.
“This is a wedding comedy often seen in Bollywood,” said Sudeep.
“Kalidas plays Happy Singh, the son of Inderpal Singh, a retired Major who is now an active politician. Unlike other Sardars, he is a timid young man. While his father wants him to be a strong Sardar and follow his footsteps, he is a veterinary doctor.”
Bollywood’s Javed Jaffrey plays Kalidas’s on-screen father.
Talking about Jaffrey’s role, Sudeep added: “It’s not like his Hindi films but more like Boman Irani’s roles. This Major thinks he is someone serious but actually appears a comic to the others. Javed was a complete professional and particular about understanding well his lines and delivering them right.”
For Merin Philip, Happy Sardar is her first lead role. She had played a supporting character in Kalidas’s Poomaram.
“Mary is a stubborn and bold young woman who loves her father very much,” said Philip, who studied at Sunrise English
Private School in Abu Dhabi. A trained dancer and singer, her acting dreams go back to her school days when she was up on stage. Veteran actor Siddique plays Kochara, Mary’s father.
Shot in Punjab, Goa, Hyderabad and Vembanad Lake (home to a large community of Knanaya Christians) the supporting cast includes Mala Parvathy, Praveena, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Sreenath Bhasi, Sharafudheen and Balu Verghese.
Happy Sardar, produced by Haseen Haneef, Joshvin Joy and Shwetha Karthik, releases in the UAE today.