Vineeth Sreenivasan: Good that Karam is releasing when people aren't pinning high hopes on me

Vineeth: It is now becoming a norm to promote a film after the release, based on the audience feedback. Lokah, Thudarum, and Saiyaraa are some recent examples. When you push the film too much, it creates unrealistic expectations that you may not be able to meet. So, it's better to stay under the radar and let the film work on its merit to create a bigger impact.

Visakh: From a business perspective, it would have been ideal for me to reveal the film's budget or details about the foreign locations we shot, but as a theatre owner and a common moviegoer, I was also keen to surprise the audience. I believe we did that with the trailer. There are many other factors in the film that could have created hype, but we wanted the content to speak louder this time.

Thira is my only film that didn't succeed in theatres, so I always had a strong desire to make a commercially successful thriller. I wanted to return to where I failed and see what happens. The genre shift is not because of the trolls. Karam was planned a year before Varshangalkku Shesham. However, after its OTT release, when there were talks about me getting repetitive, I felt a bit relieved that I'm next making a completely different film. In a sense, it's good that Karam comes at a time when people aren't pinning high hopes on me.

Not exactly, but I was slightly shocked and dejected to see the response after it started streaming, as the film performed well in theatres. I couldn't understand the reason behind the trolls, but then I tried to make sense of it. The hurt turned into learning as I tried to recognise what didn't work for the people or where they got the 'cringe feeling'. I experienced the same during Thira when it failed despite the positive reviews, and all those learnings helped me push forward.

Vineeth: There's a hook factor in the storyline, which I won't be able to reveal now. But I can say that this is one of those 'man on a mission' films. I'm a huge fan of films like Denzel Washington's Man on Fire, Taken, John Wick, etc, and the core emotion in them—one man caught in a situation and his attempts to get out of it. That's what we all are basically doing in life. Just that there's no vediyum pukayum (laughs).

Visakh: I took the plunge because it’s Vineeth with me. Having worked with him in two films, I know he won't blindly accept a film. We knew it wouldn't be easy shooting 90 per cent of the film abroad, yet we proceeded without even fixing a budget.

Visakh: Vineeth called me because it's a risky film. He knows I'm not just looking for monetary benefits and understands my passion for cinema. I've invested all the profit I earned from Hridayam and Varshangalkku Shesham for this film. Vineeth always wanted to do a thriller, but not many producers would be willing to back a film of this scale without big names. With OTTs also becoming choosy, the pre-release business for Malayalam films is almost zero today, except for overseas and music rights. But as a friend, I wanted to do this for Vineeth. Even when the budget shot up, he pitched in as one of the investors, which not many filmmakers do.

Visakh: It took us almost one year for the pre-production and location scouting alone. We travelled 5-6 times to Georgia, Azerbaijan, and the Russian borders to finalise the locations. Unlike shooting in Kerala, we couldn't decide on an estimated budget because it depended on multiple factors. The unpredictable climate conditions, minimal working hours, and travel expenses made it hard for us. At one point, we decided not to announce anything as we weren't sure if we would be able to finish shooting the film. Although the budget shot up massively, our strong pre-production ensured we could finish it at least at this cost. We've seen how several films planned to be made abroad get stalled halfway, but we were determined to return only after completing the entire work.

Vineeth: Those who came along enjoyed it, but there was rarely a moment for us to relax (laughs). The budget spiked to almost double the amount we estimated, but we still decided not to compromise on the quality because that's the USP of this film. Films like Manjummel Boys or Lokah turned out so well because of this approach. They were not made on a budget that's usually allocated for a film with such a cast.

Vineeth: I was looking for a familiar foreign face for that role. That's when Noble's brother suggested Aashan's name. When we approached his team, he was eager to collaborate on any project from Kerala. He plays an interesting part in the film, but beyond that, his mere presence was inspiring. Whenever we went through low moments, he would just pat our backs and motivate us to keep fighting. It's incredible to listen to his experiences, both on the field and off the field. Imagine this is someone who has interacted with the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Roberto Carlos. His country, Serbia, has also endured a lot of crises, so all these stories of survival and resilience used to uplift us.

Visakh: It's exactly like how a coach motivates his players. I used to think this must be how he motivated the Blasters team to reach the finals. There's a reason why people adore him so much and call him 'Aashan' (mentor).

Visakh: Cinema, like any other business, relies a lot on trust and commitment, and if that goes for a toss, you'll end up incurring huge losses. But I'm confident that even if Karam doesn't fare well, Vineeth would stand by me, irrespective of the lucrative offers he might get. Similarly, if I make a handsome profit, he knows that I'll share it with him. We've done three films in the last five years, but have not signed a single paper yet as part of any contract. By god's grace, we share great mutual trust and respect. Not just Vineeth, none of the actors have been particular with me about the remuneration and agreements. Varshangalkku Shesham had such a big star cast, but everyone prioritised the film first. In fact, Vineeth and Pranav (Mohanlal) took their pay for Hridayam and Varshangalkku Shesham only after the films were released.

Vineeth: Every new film is a risk. For a producer, it's his money; for a director, it's his reputation that is at stake. You should have a great understanding with your team, and it becomes easier when they are all your friends. In Karam, I was surrounded by friends. Noble and I've known each other for 23 years, and we have never had an argument all these years. That's the level of sync between us. Similarly, with Visakh, Jomon (T John), or Shaan (Rahman). With Jomon by my side, I could arrive at the look and feel of the film organically. We decided that the action blocks should be raw, with more hand-to-hand combat, so that everything feels real and lively. Reuniting with Shaan felt like returning to my tharavadu. Hesham (Abdul Wahab) or Amrit (Ramnath) are much younger, so I am always careful not to hurt them while sharing my feedback. Whereas with Shaan, we have the comfort of sharing anything we feel like.

Hugely inspiring. With an Empuraan or Thudarum, you should always take in the Lalettan factor, but what's encouraging is the success of films like Premalu, Manjummel Boys, and Lokah. It once again underlines how great content can cross any barrier. At the same time, we also need to be cautious about investing hundreds of crores in a film without a proper script or planning. Invest in the content and not the stars. We have taken a step in that direction with Karam.