Newbie director Srikanth Mohan talks about directing the Malayalam series ‘Jai Mahendran’
Srikanth Mohan on the set Joy Mahendran Saiju with Kurup Photo credit: Special Arrangements
Srikanth Mohan, who made his OTT directorial debut with the Sony LIV series Joy Mahendran Aware of how difficult it is to launch a film project. “I know how difficult it is to make a film, making your first film. There are many people who want to direct a film, but somehow it takes years to get that break,” he said. He was answering a question about debuting with an OTT series instead of a feature film. It’s clear that he enjoyed the process and is excited about its release.
Joy Mahendran In a taluk office and among the staff there. The action is driven by (Saiju Kurup) Mahendran Ji, a revenue officer, who bends the rules to do something and what happens as a result. Films and content based on government offices may not be new but the series is a fresh, entertaining take on the work and tactics of government employees and people who come there with various revenue department-related issues.
He added a disclaimer, “Our intention is not to troll public servants…we understand how difficult it becomes for them to do their job as they are also bound by the system. We tried to tell the story from two sides.”
Srikanth Mohan Photo credit: Special Arrangements
The story is by Rahul Riji Nair, Srikanth’s mentor and series producer; Srikanth was also in the writing team. “The story originated from Rahulaton’s experience, we developed the story from there. D Joy Mahendran The idea germinated there. Subsequently, we [the team] Visited several offices, spoke to people and did a lot of research as part of pre-production.” The show had Srikanth teaming up with Rahul Rizzi, who has been Rahul’s main associate director since the beginning of his career.
Srikanth was also part of the team that produced the Hotstar series Kerala Crime FileDirected by Ahmed Khabir and produced by First Print Studios directed by Rahul Riji. He also acted in similar films Kidam, dakini, Madhura Manohara Moham, Mukundan Unni Associates And Samar.
When Sony LIV took up the project, Rahul, who was the showrunner, suggested Srikanth as the director of the series and thus the Kottayam-native directed the series. He studied filmmaking at SAE Institute, Chennai.
The series, with its motley crew of characters, subject matter and management, is refreshingly different from the template of OTT content — read murder and thriller. Srikanth calls Sony LIV’s insistence on diverse content that challenges the template as ‘intelligent’ as it allows for ‘rooted’ storytelling e.g. Joy Mahendran.
With Suhasini on the set Photo credit: Special Arrangements
The series is reminiscent of films from the 1980s and 90s, in terms of story and those who watch it, “Do you mean that in a good way?” Srikanth asks before adding, “I grew up watching films by Satyan Anthikkad, Priyadarshan, Balachandran Menon and others. [of the period] So that might show some effect!”
The cast includes Suhasini, Saiju Kurup, Mia George, Siddharth Shiva and Rahul Riji. Rahul’s casting as Balgopal (Balu) is an unexpected choice. “We had another established actor in mind but due to the logistics of coordinating dates etc I felt Rahulaton would be perfect. I proposed to her, she agreed with some hesitation and that’s how she became Balu. As the intelligent Balu, Mahendran’s friend, Rahul is somewhat inspired casting.
Srikanth said that despite being a director himself, Rahul gave him all the space to do his work like everyone else in the cast, including Suhasini. He’s excited about the release, curious about what the response will be as the series reaches a larger, more diverse audience.
Jai Mahendran hits Sony LIV on October 11
has been published – October 04, 2024 01:04 pm IST