Director Sivaprasad: We’ve approached Maranamass as a full-fledged dark comedy

When filmmaker Sivaprasad set out to make his debut film, he considered many directions before finally choosing a playful narrative that still allowed room for bold experimentation. That choice became Maranamass, which hits theatres this Thursday. “We've approached this film as a full-fledged dark comedy, rather than a film with shades of it. It follows characters with very different personalities who all get caught up in a crime. The story explores the comedic, tense, and emotional sides of that situation,” he says.

Set in a fictional village called Vallikkunnu, Maranamass avoids tying itself to any specific region, slang, or district. The setting is symbolic in many ways. “The name of the village is actually a wordplay. ‘Valli’ means problem, and this is a place full of problems,” he adds. Though the film's tone leans towards dark humour, it doesn’t stick to one genre. Sivaprasad and his co-writer Siju Sunny—also an actor he had earlier worked with on ad films—wanted to stretch the story into different emotional territories. “We have also tried to blend in other genres and explore different emotions but I think we’ve approached it in a balanced manner. We’ve even tried to find humour in some of the more sentimental moments,” says the director.

The idea for Maranamass came from Siju, who shared the story with Sivaprasad during a casual phone call. “One day, he gave me a call and shared the core idea for this story. I found it really interesting, especially the dark comedy, and felt it had a solid conflict with loads of potential. I told him to go ahead and develop the idea. Now, in every interview, he keeps saying I’m the first person who ever asked him to develop something he pitched!,” he laughs.

The film features Basil Joseph in the lead, as Luke PP, a young man from a rural background who tries to keep up with fashion and pop culture. “While his character is Gen Z, and his traits, like the slang he uses and his attitude, do reflect that generation, the film itself isn’t entirely focused on that,” Sivaprasad clarifies. The casting of Basil came naturally. Sivaprasad had worked as Basil’s associate on Minnal Murali, and they had known each other before that. “I had shared the one-line of Maranamass with Basil earlier, but we finalised casting him only after discussing the script with Tovi,” he says, referring to actor Tovino Thomas, who came on board as the producer. The support of someone like Tovino was especially valuable for Sivaprasad. However, despite being a debutant, he is no stranger to accolades. His short film Manjaana won the Kerala State Television Award in 2012 for Best Telefilm, and Appooppanthadi, released in 2016, won the Best Telefilm award again, along with several other national and international accolades.

Despite a lot of planning and preparation owing to his experience, the shoot of Maranamass came with its share of setbacks as well, mainly due to unseasonal rains. “It rained heavily for about 20 days at a time when it usually doesn’t rain. Since most of the story takes place at night and we had a lot of outdoor shoots, what could’ve been a relatively easy shoot turned quite difficult with all the unpredictable rain. But the support from the production team really helped us push through those challenges,” he recounts.

The film's cast also includes seasoned performers like Suresh Krishna and Babu Antony—both playing against type according to the director. “We were looking for someone whose comedic side hadn’t really been explored much, and we felt he’d be a great fit. His character carries humour throughout the film,” says Sivaprasad about Suresh Krishna, who plays a bus driver. “As for Babu Antony, I don’t think he’s ever played a character with this much emotional depth before, so it was something fresh for him,” he adds.

With the film just a day away from its release, Sivaprasad isn’t overly anxious, though he’s well aware of the risks involved, especially considering the company it’s keeping at the box office. It is set to release alongside Mammootty’s Bazooka and Naslen’s Alappuzha Gymkhana. “We’ve approached Maranamass as a mainstream commercial entertainer, even though it has experimental elements in terms of genre. Right from the writing stage, we knew we were walking a tightrope and that if we didn’t pull it off convincingly, it could backfire. We’re all really curious to see how audiences will respond to it,” he signs off.