It certainly does not hurt to have a famous parent, but what is commendable is how some sons and daughters aspire to make a name all for themselves minus their famous surnames. Jenuse Mohamed is quietly proving that he is indeed a chip off the old block. Son of ace director Kamal, Jenuse is now ready with his second offering, 9, after his debut film 100 Days of Love. 9 has Prithviraj holding centrestage, not only in the capacity of the lead actor, but also as a producer. It is a sci-fi thriller — a complete volte face from his earlier project and Jenuse wants it no other way. “What drove me towards 9 was how novel the concept was. It felt like we were testing unchartered waters. A story like that does not happen every day and it is very easy to think, ‘maybe it is not the right time’ or ‘let me direct a genre already done’, but I wanted to see where I could go with this story.” The movie has a supernatural angle to it, but it also has a human angle — the relationship between a father and his overtly intelligent son.
The leg work for 9 started in 2016 and the post-production itself took nine months (a mere coincidence). The reason for this lengthy post-production stage is that 9 is a VFX driven film. “The most valuable commodity for such films is time. It needs time to reach fruition — be it pre-production or post-production. 9 took its own sweet time and sometimes it was very frustrating; it even felt like a dead end. But when I woke up the next day, the story called out to me,” he candidly recalls adding, “It may not be huge in terms of budget, but it is huge in terms of the vision and scope of the film.”
The film also has Mamta Mohandas, Prakash Raj, Wamiqa Gabbi and Master Alok. Prithviraj, Jenuse states, was the only choice on his mind for the character of Albert. Incidentally, Jenuse had earlier worked with both Prithviraj and Mamta in his father’s film Celluloid, in which he was the associate director.
“Prithviraj is someone who completely understands the script. He is not someone who will just read the script, but prefers to look at the totality of the film and contribute to driving something new.” Prithviraj’s wife Supriya played an active role in shouldering the nitty gritties of the production details, for which he gives her full credit.
Mamta, a good friend of Jenuse, was ready to do the film for two reasons — the excitement of working in a film like 9 and the chance to reunite with Prithviraj. “It was great for her to reconnect with him and also be a part of 9. She brings so much of energy when she is on the sets and is so vibrant and lively which radiates on screen.”
Jenuse admits to being apprehensive of going to meet Prakash Raj for a character so crucial to the film. It was Prithvi who gave him a call and then Jenuse went to meet Prakash Raj in Chennai. After the narration, Prakash was very excited and even surprised Jenuse. “He thanked me for approaching him to do this role. Hearing something like this from such a revered figure is absolutely great and humbling for a relatively new filmmaker.”
Wamiqa, he says, is someone with huge reserves of infectious energy and she went beyond what Jenuse expected of her role as Eva, which he says is not an easy one. “It is a very tricky character and when I first narrated the role to her, her reaction was ‘I feel scared’, to which I replied that it was a good thing since her character was not to be taken lightly! She told me to treat her as a student and that she wanted to enjoy the process of becoming Eva. She has done a phenomenal job,” he sums up. Wamiqa went the extra mile to learn Malayalam to perfect her lip-sync.
While working with all the grown-ups is relatively easy; it is the challenge of working with child actors that tests the patience of any director. Jenuse prefers to think of it as a very special experience. “You never know what to expect from child actors; with a seasoned actor you know what they will bring to the table, but the plus point is that a child actor can be molded any way we want to.”
Master Alok, Jenuse opines, is way intelligent than his seven years and there was a lot of similarities between his real and reel life, which is why Jenuse found an instant connect to his character.
The story was not the only fresh aspect; the locations chosen were also unexplored like the Key monastery in Spiti Valley, and the novelty of that is very apparent in the well-received trailer. Most of the scenes were shot at night and here, too, Jenuse added a twist. “We wanted to shoot the night scenes as night and so we worked with source light. That was a challenge and to shoot in such an environment in the great outdoors was all thanks to the courage of cinematographer Abinandhan Ramanujam.”
The burden of expectations has never weighed Jenuse down and that is thanks to his father. “We are a regular family and do not talk films at home. I never ever felt that I was living with a celebrity and so I never had any burden of expectations to weigh me down! I like to think of myself as being my own man without drawing parallels. I make the kind of films that I like, which may not be necessarily what he likes. When I narrate a story thread to him, he does give a very frank opinion of whether he likes it or not but leaves the final decision to me.” Kamal liked the trailer and commented that it felt new, but ended by saying that ultimately it was the audience that decides.
