Krishand: Script for Mohanlal film strengthened after his feedback

Quirkiness has always been deliberate. Back in college, I discovered filmmakers like Guy Ritchie, the Coen Brothers, Anurag Kashyap, Abbas Kiarostami, and Emir Kusturica. Watching them made me realise quirkiness is just an extension of art. Personally, humour as a defence mechanism has always been part of me, shaped by childhood trauma, upbringing, and economic background. I embraced that and brought it into my films. I also picked up on the natural contempt among people of Thiruvananthapuram, but I present it playfully instead of harshly.

Our standards are high, especially for those from the late ’70s and ’80s. It also comes from the ‘Mohanlal culture’ you saw in Priyadarshan films. We are not easily impressed (laughs).

My father was passionate about art. He wrote poetry, acted in plays, and drew. My mother too had a strong taste for it. She encouraged me to paint. Now my daughter also draws. I believe that if you have a primary skill, you can always find a way to express yourself, even if you are introverted. That was my opening. At the same time, I was very good at my studies.Basically a padippist (laughs). But in my first year of college, through reading, I began to sense the pointlessness of it all. I realised education was tied to capitalism and hierarchy. I got interested in biotechnology because of a fascination with cyborgs and films like The Terminator.

But soon I found it wasn’t for me. I shifted to software and worked at Infosys. There I learnt about IDC’s design programme. I had considered FTII and NID, but they were too expensive. Coming from an economically unstable background, I could not afford them. IDC, on the other hand, offered stipends. There, I made my first zombie short-film. After watching it, Santosh Thundiyil sir [cinematographer] asked me to write a screenplay for him, as he wanted a horror film. I interned with him on a Sanjay Dutt project. That experience gave me my first real understanding of how cinema works on a large scale.

My first exposure to world cinema was Jurassic Park. Until then, it was mostly Malayalam films, mainly Mohanlal’s and Mammootty’s. I could even sit through films like Vidheyan. My father would explain things to me; for example, with Danny, he would break down what was happening on screen. So I grew up watching a lot of Malayalam films, and even now, I still keep watching them. Once I got a computer at home, I began watching films like Jurassic Park, Twister, The Terminator series, Rambo, and Rocky. I watch all kinds of films, and the spectacle has always felt magical to me. However, it was only after I started attending IFFK that I discovered art cinema.

No. I still like films like Mukundetta Sumithra Vilikkunnu. When I make films, I aim for that kind of entertainment, but something else always sneaks in (laughs).

Yes. In my house, Vaisali is a celebrated film, but I personally prefer Thazhvaram. I think my father was a Bharathan fan, so I grew up watching his films. I also liked Venkalam for its imagery. Bharathan’s strength was creating ambience through visuals. As a painter, I always think first in terms of images. That’s why Bharathan resonates with me.

I watched it as a child and was scared, despite it not being a ghost film. Later, after watching spaghetti westerns and Leone’s works, I realised its brilliance. The villain was Western in style — mysterious, not fully explained. It made me think about geography, ethnography, and character arcs in scripts. Padmarajan was rooted in literature, Bharathan spoke directly to me through cinema. Together they created magic.

Class 12. I participated in the Children’s Film Festival, which introduced me to the works of Abbas Kiarostami. IFFK has been a game-changer for film enthusiasts in Kerala. Malayalam cinema often follows familiar tropes, though we are not yet fully affected by the eyeball economy. IFFK exposed me to innovative storytelling formats. Filmmakers like Jafar Panahi, who smuggled a film out on pen drives, have been a real inspiration.

I am currently working on a film titled Masthishka Maranam, which explores this very subject. ‘Attention’ has been a market for long. With the advent of mobile phones, grabbing people’s eyeballs became a necessity. Now content is less important than holding attention with dopamine hits. If you win attention, the numbers grow, and with numbers comes revenue. This idea has always been part of advertising, but it became even sharper after the pandemic. Campaigns with semi-nude women were used to sell burgers. Sexual innuendo was used to sell cars. The challenge today is to create an impact within six seconds.

It’s like insisting on using traditional film stock while working with digital formats for the natural, nostalgic feel of it. You have to be smart and adapt to the technology. Filmmakers like Christopher Nolan can afford that. I do not have that privilege.

Good filmmakers can keep the audience invested organically. They have to put double the effort today. Today, platforms tell us that we are losing attention at particular points and ask us to come up with something more interesting. You can either go with it or fight it, but I don’t have the privilege to fight. I believe data is the truth.

Yes, there is a lot of other such data, like the screenplay eyeball test and image eyeball test. I do user tests with all my films to see where the viewers are losing interest. So I try to do something there, to keep the viewer engaged… like increasing the beats per minute, increasing the cuts, or making louder portions before and after it. Trade secrets (laughs).

I always wanted to make a sci-fi film, and I have long been fascinated by cyberpunk. It often depicts a world where the quality of life is poor but the quality of technology is very high. I was influenced by dystopian ideas like those in George Orwell’s 1984, where governments control our attention, and also by Aldous Huxley, who suggested that governments would not bother with control at all as they simply keep the people distracted. That is exactly what seems to be happening now.

These days, people are more concerned with trivial things than with pressing issues. This is why I wanted to make a retro-futuristic cyberpunk film. When I first pitched the idea, many felt there was no business in it. Finally, Ajith Vinayaka backed the project, thanks to our earlier collaboration on Arun Chandu’s Gaganachari. For those unfamiliar with cyberpunk, Masthishka Maranam might feel like another episode of Black Mirror, but if you know the genre, you will also see the influence of films like The Matrix.

Yes. With Lokah and Gaganachari doing well, I feel audiences are open to new concepts. Hopefully, we can move away from familiar kovilakam stories. I wanted Lokah to win. I admired Dominic Arun’s Tharangam, especially its ending, and even cast Santhy in 4.5 Gang after watching her in it.

Yes, it was always meant to be a mockumentary. After Vrithakrithiyulla Chathuram unexpectedly got selected at IFFK, I felt encouraged. I wanted to try something crazy — I had a short story called Mermaid in Kochi. I was also inspired by Chuck Palahniuk’s Rant, which introduced me to postmodern deconstruction. I started thinking about how to make the short story into a film. Like Stanley Kubrick said, if something can be written or thought, it can be filmed.

My name was supposed to be Krishnanand, but Ammumma must have dropped syllables en route to hospital (laughs). In school, it was often misspelt, but I grew to like its uniqueness. When Amitabh Bachchan launched a production company named after himself, I thought of starting ‘Krishand Hotel’ or ‘Krishand Fried Chicken’ some day. That’s the backstory of Krishand Films in short (laughs). For titles, my strong Malayalam vocabulary pushes me towards literary choices. Even if not marketing-friendly. I’ll keep fighting for them.

It was huge. After he casually spoke about our film in a press conference, there was a sudden spike in the views. It’s also surprising that people in power take note of everything that’s made in the industry. The biggest turning point in my career was when I sold the film to Sony LIV and later won all the major awards that year. That got me cultural capital. After Aavasavyuham, the businessman in me woke up. I wanted to make something completely different within six months. The result was Purusha Pretham.

Death, its rituals, the loss, the grief — it is such a big process. The idea of death fascinates me. There is a lot to explore. Filmmakers like Don Palathara and Lijo Jose Pellissery have done it. More recently, S Vipin explored the theme in Vyasanasametham Bandhumithradhikal. You can easily create dark humour around death. In Purusha Pretham, Ajith’s story inspired me to explore morphology and magical realism — like a man turning into a frog after death, hands into flowers.

Yes (laughs), but it is me imagining things and getting scared. I know that ghosts don’t exist. It must be because of the social conditioning I come from. I keep imagining it and get quite scared. I also get scared when I stay alone for too long. I start imagining that there are things in the dark corners.

I don’t watch them! In fact, I had to stop after watching the first 25 minutes of Bramayugam. I could not watch Bhoothakaalam properly either. Similarly, I remember watching The Shining getting really scared.

National Award-winning editor Sankalp Mishra once told me films need a philosophical core for longevity. So I started exploring them. I read J Krishnamurti, Taoism, Nietzsche, Osho, etc. I live with a philosophy for a while, then unlearn it. I look at identity crises and apply them to characters. For example, Arikuttan in 4.5 Gang embodies stoicism.

As the name suggests, it’s inspired by Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. I actually thought it was foolish to write a manual on how to kill people. But the book exists, and it has helped me at different stages of my life. My version is more of a study of the book. To help others understand, I included a story. My idea was also to release two gangster films around the same time. The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang is wild, funny, and explores the ecosystem of a criminal. Art of Warfare, on the other hand, is about violence and how violence breeds more violence.

Growing up in Thiruvananthapuram, I saw that world firsthand. I remember festivals where we got a Five Star bar with the sadya — crazy times. It was authentic to write about. But I also saw people dying from depression, suicide, accidents. A whole section fades away while others profit. Writing 4.5 Gang was also about reflecting on that.

The storyline itself has not changed. One major difference is in the wildness of the Maitreyan character, played by Jagadish. Around that time, I had been reading a few books where criminals narrated their own stories in the first person. What struck me was that even though they were murderers and liars, they were also whitewashing their own actions. Ranjith sir had explored a similar idea in Pranchiyettan and the Saint. The idea fascinated me. So I made Maitreyan a bit more unhinged.

They follow the concept that we are creating it together. So, you have to let go of your ego. The best argument wins. I respect that.

Well, now capitalism is everywhere. I cannot fight or defeat it. Everyone is striving to make money. I am a commercial filmmaker too. So, my idea is about forming a tribe and equipping ourselves to survive within capitalism. That is my politics for now.

I think it has to do with age. In the early stages, many believed the Left wing was right. We thought socialism was good. Then came religion…. But in the end — money rules everything. We finally end up being engulfed by capitalism. We are just products within it.

Even during the writing stage, many people said the female characters were not strong. But at the end of the day, I am selling a product, and one cannot always focus on the politics of it.

There is this understanding that you should not be politically wrong. Cinema’s influence is huge. I remember wanting to smoke after watching No Smoking during college days! Similarly, a friend wanted to drink right after watching Mohanlal’s Spirit!

There are plenty of critics like that. They approach every film from a particular perspective, and that is the lens through which they engage with art. We must understand that not all filmmakers are aware of, or sensitive to, political correctness. That awareness often comes through education, peer discussions, deeper engagement, or through personal experiences of suffering.

I enjoy those comparisons, but I try to stay neutral. I have drawn inspiration from many films. Angamaly Diaries influenced me with its music and rhythm. Lijo Jose Pellissery is a superb filmmaker. You will find my comments on his Facebook page (laughs).

Vikraman was inspired by superstar Vijay. We couldn’t secure rights, so my associate suggested I do it. Vikraman will return in Season 2. Thiruvananthapuram has a strong Vijay culture. I’m a fan too, though I feel sad that he’s been underutilised.

It was just for the experience. Working with him was a long-time wish. He is one of the finest actors.

Of course. When you are working in this industry, getting the chance to work with those who are regarded as the best in popular culture is a privilege. It allows you to explore the possibilities of the medium in a more expansive way.

It is a detective comedy with him and a sidekick, rooted in realism. That is all I can reveal at the moment.

I connected with Mohanlal through Niranj Maniyanpilla Raju, who worked with me in The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang. For me, working with Mohanlal sir is something I never imagined would be possible in this lifetime — just like working with, say, Robert De Niro. Same applies to Mammukka. However, I presented the screenplay and got some solid feedback from Mohanlal sir. Now the script has become much stronger.

I wanted to do Hindi films. But after seeing the situation in Bollywood… I was not sure. When you are in an industry where you mostly get to do what you want and there are takers for it, would you really want to place yourself in a space where everything is about money?

I get mainstream-level pay. True mainstream, however, means a big theatrical hit. I am waiting for that. Currently, I am just doing my work in one corner. My audience may be niche, but the niche is growing.

Reservoir Dogs, The Matrix, The Wild Goose Lake (a Chinese film)... then there are the films I watch while having food — Pandippada, for example. Every frame of it is fun. My wife loves it. And Fitzcarraldo, especially when I am struggling.