It was indeed a surprise for Michael Kalayil George when the offer to appear as the lead in the music album Vallatha Oru Ithu, debut directorial venture of Akhil Raj Chirayil, landed in his lap. The two have been friends from the time Michael was an assistant director and Akhil, an associate art director, in movies.
Movies and acting always had a special place in Michael’s heart, who is now a professional advertisement filmmaker. However, the artist adds that he had to face disappointment in every audition that he attended for the role of an actor. “I was crazy about acting and getting into movies back in college days, and used to attend every audition that I came to know about, wishing to land up in movies. However, the net result was disappointment only. Later, I started assisting directors and my focus started shifting from being an actor to the more complex aspects of movie making.
I was happy with what I was doing mainly because it was helping me to learn the technicalities of the craft. And now, when I am not that keen about acting, the offer landed on my lap and I was more than happy to have received it. Akhil insisted that I was apt for the kind of a character he was looking for and therefore I decided to give it a try,” says Michael, sharing his happiness over receiving a role in Vallatha Oru Ithu.
Ask him about the music video and Michael says that love is a subject that never goes out of trend and the song too narrates the story of a guy who falls for a girl. “However, I felt that the entire look and approach given to the song is new and fresh. It’s a sweet and simple story that everyone will like. Harishankar has rendered the song which, I think, adds to its freshness in terms of the feel,” he adds.
Michael is overwhelmed by the responses he has been receiving and says that some people have also approached him with roles in movies. However, he is busy with the pre-production work of his debut movie as a director. Elaborating on the project, he says, “Even when I completely shifted my focus to ad film making, direction didn’t leave my priority list. Realising my first movie is the biggest dream I have as of now. It is a trilingual film that will be made in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu and therefore it has been a hectic task to zero in on the technicians and actors.
The process is progressing and I wish to start working on it soon,” he concludes.
