Kochi: Director of cult films Shaitan and David, Bejoy Nambiar is fiercely possessive of his movies. He makes sure to leave his stamp on every aspect of the films he makes — be it direction, scripting or production. Getting ready for his biggest project yet, with Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akthar in the lead roles, Bejoy has come a long way in the film industry with a few but striking projects.
“I was an average movie buff doing business studies, when I became a part of Getaway Theatre in Bangalore. There, I wrote 10 scripts as part of a project and decided to convert the easiest into a film. That is how Shaitan came to be. However, after completing the script, I had to wait two years, to get the film rolling, because nobody wanted to produce a newcomer. During the shoot of my first film Shaitan, I wanted Amitabh Bachchan to play the cop in the movie. But I couldn’t even meet him at the time to discuss the project. Now finally, that I will work with him is a huge honour,” says Bejoy.
His second film David was a jolt to the director. “I thought Shaitan’s success would make it easier to find a producer, but I had to go through the same struggle again. What disappointed me more, however, was the poor reception it got. I had scripted David long before Shaitan, so it was a project close to my heart. I believe poor marketing played a role in it. I have to accept that there was a section of the audience who didn’t appreciate it. I have to be more careful of audience sensibilities in future. But I got to work with all these great actors like Nassar, Neil, Sheetal and Vikram and, though the film could have been a little crisper, I wouldn’t change anything,” says Bejoy protectively.
Perhaps, it is this fierce belief in his work that helped him convince superstar Mohanlal to travel to Mumbai to act in his first short film, Reflections in 2005.
“Even though I was born and brought up in Mumbai, my parents are from Kannur. Malayalam films were a staple diet at home. I approached Mohanlal, because I consider him one of the best actors. He was surprisingly supportive and agreed to do the film. I had been saving money to make five different short films, but ended up investing all of it in this project. We had a very small crew, now Mohanlal is someone who has assistants around to meet his every need, but during our shoot, he would patiently wait alone on a bench of the National Park between shots. He never made me feel like a newcomer. Reflections got me a chance to assist Mani Ratnam, the university where I learned filmmaking,” he says.
Bejoy is keenly looking forward to doing a Malayalam project. “I stay updated about Malayalam films, thanks to Lijo and Prithviraj. I met Lijo during a reality show and Prithviraj happens to be another Malayalam actor who I admire. The three of us had planned to do a Malayalam venture together a long while ago; I even have some scripts ready. But I haven’t decided which theme should be done first; the contracts and other details have to be sorted out. But I hope the project goes on the floor soon. I did a 40-minute Malayalam short film, Rahu, some years ago, starring Thilakan and Madhu, for the festival circuit. But the festival organisers asked me to cut down the length of the film and I refused. I still have the film, but I have not released it anywhere. It is a special project, especially now that Thilakan is no more,” he ends.
