'I prefer making feel-good films as I don’t want people to leave theatres in a depressed mood'

Director Jis Joy is back with his third film, Vijay Superum Pournamiyum (VSP). The film, which also marks his third collaboration with Asif Ali (after Bicycle Thieves and Sunday Holiday), is hitting theatres this Friday.

Jis says VSP is a small, feel-good romantic film designed for a family audience. “I would simply call it a string of episodes laden with humour, fun, romance and some uplifting messages.”

The director adds that Asif Ali’s character won’t be like the typical slacker youth he has played in some of his earlier films. “This time he will be playing a slightly different character. Both Asif and Aishwarya’s characters have a lot of contrasting qualities.” 

He tells us the VSP team put emphasis on the overall look of the film, picking the right colours and costumes. Cinematographer Renadive and production designer Shiji Pattanam worked together to create a particular mood for the film. “We decided right from the beginning that the entire film needed to give off a relaxed vibe. Renadive and Shiji sat together and came up with the correct colour palette for each scene. Whatever is present inside a particular frame had to look a certain way. A certain standard needed to be followed and we made sure that we never went below that. We also picked the right costumes that matched perfectly with the background. When the trailer came out, a lot of people commented on the costumes and the colours. We have used more costumes in this than we did in Sunday Holiday,” says Jis.

The director has an affinity for films that put people in a good mood. “I prefer making feel-good films. The thing is I don’t want people to leave theatres in a depressed mood. They should leave happy with a smile on their faces. I don’t want them to feel that they have wasted their money. So I write and shoot every scene with that intention. I can say that we have done our best. The rest is up to the audience. The feedback from the preview has been positive, with many saying it was better than Sunday Holiday. If the audience feels the same way, then I’m sure the film will become a success.”

AK Sunil is the producer of the film which also stars Aishwarya Lekshmi , Balu Varghese, Siddique, Aju Varghese, RJ Joseph Annamkutty Jose (who is making his feature film debut), KPAC Lalitha, Renji Panicker, Shanthikrishna, and Devan. Prince George has composed the music to the lyrics penned by Jis Joy himself.