KPAC Leela delivers a stupendous performance as a creepy and eccentric grandmother haunting her home nurse in Anantharaman Ajay’s short film Granny on YouTube. Mainly known for his brainy show Nissaaram! and the roasting review program Appuppan and The Boys, Anantharaman makes his directorial debut with the short film. The film dials up the tension with each frame before delivering a gut-wrenching climax, seeping the audience in existential dread. In an exclusive conversation with CE, the debutant director spoke about Granny, his favourite horror films, his views about the modern review culture, landing a cameo in Jithu Madhavan’s horror-comedy Romancham, and more.
Excerpts:
Does the ending mean that Granny is a demon incarnate?
Of course, it does. We show it in the last shot of the film, where the demon leaves her body, with a black smoke symbolising it. If you watch it keenly, you can see it in the climax.
Yes, but then again it is worth asking because Granny is called a psychological horror film and you are a known atheist…
Ha ha. That is there, but I will not bring my personal beliefs into the story. Actually, the original script for Granny has a longer and more elaborate climax, lasting 15 to 20 minutes. However, we could not film it because of financial constraints.
It is reminiscent of many films, such as Eko, Bhoothakaalam and Bramayugam…
There is no connection between Eko and Granny, and we shot it way before Eko released in theatres. Maybe people make this connection because KPAC Leela is also the voice of Biana Momin in Eko, and the youngster (Sivaraaj) in Granny looks like Sandeep Pradeep. Regarding Bhoothakaalam, we used it intentionally as a reference for Granny, especially in terms of the lighting pattern and ambience. With regard to Bramayugam, much like Granny and Nosferatu, Dracula is the inspiration for all these films. We can only bring some uniqueness to such cinema.
There is more market than before for horror cinema today, with films such as Obsession and Backrooms doing well. What are your favourite horror films?
I really like watching horror films. They do not scare me to death, although I am not immune to the fear factor. Some of my favourites are Rec, Incantation, The Blair Witch Project, and Caveat. One of the creepiest films I have watched recently is Undertone. Obsession is also a good film and a lot of fun in theatres.
I am not a big fan of conventional horror, such as Insidious and Conjuring. When it comes to Granny, the intention was not to give a last-minute twist. From the first shot itself, you can tell that the grandmother will kill the home nurse. The suspense comes from how she will kill him, and the film thrives on that sense of anticipation it causes among the audience.
Creepy grandmother and demented child are key elements of traditional horror films. What is the key to presenting a film with such tropes?
Make it as realistic as possible. If we try to scare the audience in an obvious way, they would sense that they are watching a film throughout. However, if you make it realistic and subtle, I think they would forget that at one point and immerse themselves fully into it. With Granny, we aim for that. We avoid jump scares in it because the story demands it and we had budget constraints. Without a strong budget, it is difficult to pull off an effective jump scare that does not look cheap in a short film.
Is there a real inspiration behind Granny?
Not specifically, but it draws from my interactions with creepy grandmothers. I originally conceived it as a small short story. Then, I thought of shooting it in my grandmother’s house, which eliminated the rental expense and helped with our budget.
How did you cast KPAC Leela in it?
A close friend of mine worked as an editor (Midhun Murali) in her film Pookkaalam. He showed her photograph to me, and I instantly told myself, ‘I have my heroine.’
Speaking of grandparents. Is there actually a grandfather in your life, as in Appuppan and The Boys?
Of course, he is there (laughs) and he loves films. That said, we exaggerate it a little bit for the sake of the show. I still remember him taking us to theatres for ‘koothara’ films such as Rashtram (laughs). We revisited some of these films in the COVID period for Appuppan and The Boys.
It never occurred to you to enter the modern review space?
I am not passionate about movie reviewing. However, I like to make people laugh. Appuppan and The Boys is not a movie review show but rather a comedy program. If you watch an episode of Appuppan and The Boys, you might not learn about technicalities of a film . Further, my reviews may go wrong many times, and people may not like my recommendations. So I think it would be foolish of me to get into the review space.
What do you think of the performative review culture in Kerala?
There are many upsides and downsides to this. It can help improve Malayalam cinema considerably. When there is such harsh criticism, it will push filmmakers to strive to make better films out of fear for inferior outputs. However, sometimes, it can get a bit too harsh and the filmmakers might take offense to the review, as it critiques their creation.
Has anyone responded to your film roasting in a hostile way?
Obviously, people might have some grudge against me (laughs), but nobody has expressed it to me directly. I think that is probably because I am not affecting their finances or careers in a negative way. If anything, it would have only benefitted them indirectly, because my roasts make people watch these films released in Jambavan’s times.
Some references in Appuppan and The Boys also become trends, such as that Jayaram scene from Salaam Kashmier…
People have noticed that before as well. It is just that the scene became more popular when we mentioned it in Appuppan and The Boys.
Did you land the Romancham role through Appuppan and The Boys?
Not just because of Appuppan and The Boys but Nissaaram! also helped me with it. That is the benefit of being an active YouTuber.
Do you plan to turn Granny into a feature film?
I planned it and even screened the short film to some production houses. However, I was not interested in changing my actors, because it is their work after all.
Did the production houses ask you to change actors?
It is not like that. They were hesitant at first but okayed the cast later. However, we still have to bring audiences into the theatre. I did not want people to say, ‘The film is good but it did not become a hit.'
Isn’t that perception changing a little bit now? For example, Sambhavam Adhyayam Onnu did well in theatres without any major stars…
That is true, but there is still an element of risk to it, and the downside is massive with a theatrical release. We could have also gone down the theatrical path, but we chose not to do so because YouTube is a sure shot way of gaining viewership, and it would also be a good addition to our portfolio.
