Popular Malayalam filmmaker MA Nishad known for his movies on socially relevant themes like farmer suicides, pollution and child abuse is at it once again. At a time when Tamil Nadu and Kerala are locking horns in a dispute over the Mullaiperiyar Dam, Nishad is coming out with a bilingual in Tamil and Malayalam titled Keni (means well in Tamil) and Kinar in M'town.
Nishad has roped in none other than actress-turned-politician Jaya Pradha, who returns to Tamil cinema after a decade, for the lead protagonist character named Indira. The story revolves around the water dispute between the people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala because of a well.
The director spills the beans about his film and the ensemble cast of Jaya Pradha, Revathy, Anu Hassan, Rekha, Parthiban, Nasser among others.
"People can live without food but not without water. I am raising a question to the society, the system and the politicians - Who is the custodian of water? The story is narrated from the perspectives of three different journalists representing an English newspaper, a visual medium and a women's magazine," is how Nishad breaks the news on his new venture.
On bringing Jaya on board he says, “I know Jaya Pradha for the last 14 years. After I completed the script, I felt she would be apt for the lead role of a soft-spoken pragmatic woman Indira. She will be seen as a lady hailing from Kerala (Kerala-Tamil Nadu border) and her husband's character is from TN. She was too happy to be part of this movie.”
While Revathy plays a Tirunelveli collector, Anu Haasan is a village woman who joins the cause. Nasser, Parthiban, MS Bhaskar and Thalaivasal Vijay essay vital roles. “The story happens between 2016 and 2018 and there's a 1965 segment as well. I won't call it an offbeat venture, but a realistic take on the situation. Twenty years back, have we ever thought we would buy water in future? Though I am not judgmental, I have given a few suggestions to solve the issue.”
After a gap of 25 years with their last song together being for Mani Ratnam's Thalapathy, top singers KJ Yesudas and SP Balasubramaniam are coming together for a number in Keni which hails brotherhood between Kerala and Tamil Nadu to composer Jayachandran's music.
One may recall veteran K.Balachander who made a film Thaneer Thaneer 37 years back with the same theme of water scarcity and political corruption, which also bagged a few national awards. More recently, we saw Aramm which also had touched upon a similar concept.
