As Tovino-starrer Luca gears up for release, it promises to be an introduction of a few fresh faces to Mollywood. The romantic thriller directed by Arun Bose is the dream project of a bunch of childhood friends. ‘Muvattupuzha Film Fraternity’, as they jokingly call themselves, is a gang of buddies who share the common passion for movies. One among them, Mridul George, has already made headlines for his quirky and unique fan fiction short stories published under the title Paathi Murinja Ticketukal. The Kochi-based techie-turned-screenwriter of Luca is all excited about watching his work on screen on June 28.
“Writing Luca has been a long process. I and Arun spent almost five years on it. So leaving the base as it is, from the first draft to the last one we had discussed with Tovino, it has undergone a lot of changes. A lot of effort has gone into it and it’s a very joyous and excited wait for me,” says Mridul.
Mridul’s expertise in writing is much evident in Paathi Murinja Ticketukal, which is perhaps the first published fan fiction in Malayalam. Starting a story from the point of view of a fan, from where the film left, it was totally a new idea for many when this techie posted it on his social media account. “Ignited by a lot of ‘likes and shares’, I started writing more in that style and finally, published the collection. I got a lot of positive feedbacks, some of them appreciated the way I studied each character before giving them a new life in my own perception.”
Mridul says he has tried to add depth to each character in Luca. “Tovino’s titular role and the character played by Nithin George, who is also a friend and member of their ‘fraternity’, have a lot of complex traits. Tovino’s character can be very relatable to many and even I could find a lot of similarities with myself. While writing, we tried to make it very legit and realistic. Nithin’s character, Akbar Hussein, a police officer, is going through a mental trauma after parting ways with his lover. While being part of the investigation, he has to tackle his trauma as well. We had to be wary of not exaggerating anything and keeping it subtle, leaving no room for error.”
Though Mridul wants to connect people with realistic characters and stories, he believes that one cannot stick to a single pattern of narration. “Malayalam cinema has been trying to be very realistic in terms of narrating a story these days. But we cannot deny the fact that we have an audience for both realistic and mass movies. If you do well, you will be credited with what you owe from the audience. Content really matters.”
Since publishing his first book, he has written a few more short stories and published online. “I am not planning to publish it as a book now as I am, like every other crew member, eagerly waiting for the release of Luca. We are confident that people will like the movie,” he wraps up.
