The Hindu (Thiruvananthapuram)
Cinema in the
In his new film, through the
but in Varshangalkku Shesham, he is directing Basil for the first time; Vineeth is working with his younger brother Dhyan after 11 years; Neeraj and Vineeth worked together in Vadakkan Selfie but he is directing Neeraj for the first time.
Shot within 40 days on sets in Kerala, Coimbatore and Pollachi, the movie recreates the Kodambakkam and studios of Chennai at Aroor, Kochi. “Art director Nimesh Thanur reimagined Chennai for us at Aroor,” he says.
Vineeth wears many hats — writer, actor, director, lyricist, singer and composer — all with elan. He has also brought in several newbies who are now
(from left) Actors Deepak Parambol, Chandu Salimkumar, Arun Kurian, art director Ajayan Challisery, director Chidambaram, actor Abhiram Radhakrishnan, costume designer Mashar Hamsa and Vishnu Raghu; (below) a still from the movie.
There were many other memorable moments. Like the tug of war sequence. We were up against professionals and so all actors underwent training. I skipped that session and Chandu [son of actor Salimkumar who plays the character Abhilash] fainted!
Ajayan Challisery, Art director
When we went to the real location, it was difficult to even spot the ditch as it was covered in soil and moss. Moreover, the 80feet depth had to be taken into account.
In Kerala, there was no space of such scale where the cave could be recreated. After a longdrawn search, we found an old, abandoned godown in Perumbavoor which was converted into the Guna Caves. It was 50feet deep but the platform was designed in such a way that water seeps into it from every direction.
During the Kodai schedule, we studied the rocks and made their moulds, which were casted in Kochi for recreation. It took us two months. Three fivefloorhigh ditches were stitched together to create the final cave [into which Subhash falls]. We shot there for three months, thankfully without any injuries or unfortunate incidents. making waves in movies.
This time, he introduces musician Amrit Ramnath, who makes his debut as a music director.
Amrit had met Vineeth with some of his unreleased works. “There is a certain feel of a bygone era in his songs. Initially, his wish was to sing in the film. I asked if he would do the background score. He told me that since he was already into composing, he had a team of friends working with him. He is in his twenties and I felt his perspective would be interesting and enhance the film.”
Vineeth admits that his decisions to choose a teammate are largely based on intuition. “Usually, I narrate stories that are in my comfort space. Varshangalkku Shesham is a completely different film. I like working with newcomers as they bring in fresh perspectives and ideas.”
Vineeth has a reputation for remaining calm on the sets even when things around him go haywire. Is there a secret about his Zen? “Generally, there is stress when the lights go off or when there is a delay in schedule. There is no point in getting worked up and making everybody stressed. However, the fact is that I enjoy the process of working with all of them. I enjoy making films!” hakira Banu cannot imagine an iftar without homemade palooda. No cousin of falooda, palooda is a popular dish that is part of iftar in Northern Kerala, especially Kannur.
A homecook, Shakira says her mother, who has her roots in Marthandam in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, learned to make the palooda when they were living in Oman.
“It is milk cooked with a spoonful of maida, a little sugar, cardamom and cinnamon. Finally, it is tempered with shallots and cashew nut fried in ghee. My mother used to prefer peanuts to cashew. Now, with so many kinds of nuts that are easily available, you can use your imagination to garnish the palooda,” says Shakira.
Kerala has a plethora of traditional homemade drinks that are made for iftar.
SLight meal
Jugnu Thajudheen, a resident of Kochi who hails from Kannur, says the advantage of these drinks is that they are easy to digest and help the empty stomach cope with the food that is eaten after a long break.
“Palooda is soothing on the stomach and easy to digest. We use cloves and cardamom for the flavour. Finally, I add a dash of rosewater or rose essence. I make it when my grandchildren are home for iftar,” says the septuagenarian.
Another traditional drink that Shakira, an experienced homecook, cherishes is paalum pazhavum. The smaller varieties of yellow banana is mashed and mixed with coconut milk. “And it is sweetened with shavings of palm jaggery. Nowadays, jaggery, sugar and honey are also used. In my opinion, palm jaggery beats all other sweeteners,” maintains Shakira.
Among a wide variety of other traditional homemade drinks are aval (flattened rice) paal and gothambu kachiyathu (a wheat drink).
“Thari kachiyathu is semolina cooked in coconut milk with sugar and cardamom and cloves. It is garnished with cashew nuts, raisins and caramelised shallots. I use only kismis and shallots,” says Jugnu.
She says vermicelli is also used to make a drink like
payasam but coconut milk is used instead of dairy.
“For aval paal, yellow banana like njaali poovan (a variety of yellow banana) is mashed and added to coconut milk. Finally,
aval is added with sugar to taste and powdered cardamom. It’s very tasty. This is how my umma (mother) used to make it,” says Jugnu.
Nowadays YouTubers bring in all kind of variations, Jugnu says. “At present, eats like gothambu kanji (wheat gruel) is not commonly made. In Kannur, we get polished wheat that has been handpounded to remove the bran. That is cooked with a little onion and cinnamon. Once, it is cooked, the cinnamon is removed and the cooked wheat is mashed and sieved. Then coconut milk is added and cooked again. It is tempered with fried shallots before serving.”