Writer Arun K Gopinaath's journey in the film industry was anything but straightforward. His love for cinema began in his hometown of Angamaly, where his passion for films eventually led him to leave a stable job to pursue filmmaking full-time. "It took two and a half years after leaving my job to achieve that dream with God’s Own Country," he recalls. However, after the release of his debut film as a co-writer in 2014, Arun faced an unexpectedly long and difficult road to making his second film.

Although his entry into cinema may have been less gruelling than it is for many aspirants, it was during this gap that Arun encountered the true challenges of surviving in the unforgiving waters of the film industry. He struggled for years to get a second project off the ground. “We began Thrayam three or four years ago, but it was delayed for various reasons,” he explains. Several other stories he had planned failed to materialise, leaving him in limbo. "People also added salt to my wounds, saying, 'How did you not get more films even after doing a film that involved the likes of Fahadh (Faasil) and Sreenivasan?'" Arun admits, recalling moments of self-doubt.

Beyond production setbacks, Arun grappled with being left behind by an industry that was constantly evolving. "If things had gone as planned, my second film would have been a commercial, action-packed film," he reflects. However, the pandemic and other factors put a halt to his plans. Yet, the same period also brought about an unexpected opportunity. "With the rise of smaller films post-pandemic and growing demand for thrillers, there was a brief OTT boom. That’s when Thrayam came together quickly — we started shooting in less than a month from its conception."

Thrayam, directed by Sanjith Chandrasenan, is slated to hit screens this Friday. Arun describes it as a "different attempt in terms of storytelling," presenting a hyperlinked structure that unfolds over the course of one night. Although it follows in the footsteps of earlier multi-narrative works like Traffic and Arun's own God's Own Country, he emphasises that it is "more of a journey through the characters' lives and how their stories intersect," rather than an edge-of-the-seat thriller. The concept of karma is an important aspect of the film, says Arun, adding, "There’s a theme about human greed, particularly for money, and how far that greed can drive people and how people pay for their actions." The title Thrayam, which translates to a trio or set of three, is "somewhat deceptive", clarifies Arun. "It actually features six stories, divided into three chapters." Though the story is inspired by something specific, Arun remains tight-lipped about its origin, stating, "We tried to develop that inspiration uniquely."

Crafting a multi-narrative film posed significant challenges for Arun as a writer. He points out that while such stories can be written cohesively, translating them onto the screen can be much harder. "What works on paper may not translate well to the screen," he says, adding that the difficulty increases during the editing phase, where pacing can feel disjointed. While talking more about multiple narrative structures with a dozen characters criss-crossing each other’s paths, he refers to the Tamil film Aaranya Kaandam, written and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja, praising its brilliant execution while specifically noting that "when the writer and director are different, as in our case, it’s much more challenging."

For the cast of Thrayam, Arun relied largely on friendships, with actors like Dhyan Sreenivasan and Sunny Wayne joining the project. "Dhyan, in particular, is one of the most approachable stars in the industry right now," Arun adds. Despite wrapping up the shoot in 2022, braving many lockdown restrictions and scheduling conflicts, Thrayam faced post-production delays as well. "The final cut, which is getting released now, was only locked two weeks ago," he shares. Though Arun is hopeful about the film's reception, he is also aware of the challenges small films face in today’s cinema landscape. "For the cinema industry to survive, people need to come to theatres regardless of the film’s scale," he stresses, lamenting the trend where films are pulled from theatres after just one weekend if they don’t perform well.

Looking ahead, Arun expresses his desire to explore new genres. While his next project as a writer will also likely be a thriller, he also "plans to direct a film in the future, drawing from the experiences gained from the two films done so far."