‘Writing a progressive story is easier than being truly progressive in life’: Aattam director Anand Ekarshi

In this dialogue-heavy feature, Ekarshi delves into the psyche of his characters even as the equations among the group members keep changing as the story progresses. Edited excerpts:

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Since you have been part of Lokadharmi, a Kochi-based theatre group, for nearly 20 years, did your experience come handy while writing Aattam’s script?

I have been doing theatre from the age of 10. That, of course, makes me aware of a lot of nuances as well as details such as what happens before and after the staging of a play. All the actors in the movie, barring Zarin Shihab and Kalabhavan Shajohn, are part of the same theatre group. Since I have known them for the last 15 years, it was easier for me to make a film with them.

How did the idea of the movie come up and what all went into developing the script?

The idea of doing a film together came up during a one-day trip we made. It was actor Vinay Forrt who suggested that we do a film in which all these wonderful theatre actors of Lokadharmi can feature. He kept nudging me to write a script. We came up with the idea: ‘Is justice a pursuit of an individual or a group’? I also wanted to explore how justice derails when personal stakes come in. After that, I thought of the setting and characters. All theatre actors play characters bearing their real name. They have been friends for several years. Calling each other by some other name would have killed the truth of their performance.

At the centre of Aattam is a sexual harassment incident and the reaction it generates.

Since the group had 12 men, the individual seeking justice had to be a woman. I wondered what could be the topic that’s relevant to the present times. I wanted to talk about it in a realistic way without being preachy or loud. The idea was also to show how people are grey in real life.

The film opens with scenes from Hayavadana, a play that talks about a woman’s desire. Why did you pick this play?

We wanted the movie to start with a play. What happens during the play has some relevance to the rest of the story. We wanted to show a classical play. One of the actors suggested Hayavadana, which I had not watched. We decided to take some elements of the play and write our own version of a scene from the play using these elements.

The movie is designed as a chamber drama. Was it easy to handle a big cast in a compact setting?

No. It was difficult since almost every scene had 12 actors. Prior to the shoot we did nearly 35 days of rehearsal. That helped. We needed to choreograph everything since it’s a dialogue-driven movie. My producer supported all that despite most of us being debutants. Nine members of the cast were facing the camera for the first time. Since I knew dubbing the dialogues would be tough, we opted for sync sound. At one point in the film, the actors had to sit together and discuss the matter. When they are discussing such a sensitive matter, they can not move much as the tension will be diluted.

What were the challenges of having so many characters?

While writing, I had to constantly check who said which line and if everyone was participating in the discussion. I had a board where everyone’s character details were written and I used to keep referring to that. Character continuity was important. Everyone had an arc and their character progression was worked out. My main intention was that the audience should be swayed by the characters. I wanted constant participation from viewers. That’s something you can never be sure of until the audience watches it.

Several recent Malayalam-language movies have been effective in presenting a woman’s perspective.

There is a general air of progressiveness in Kerala. If I have managed to present the woman’s perspective correctly in Aattam, then I will give the credit to my parents and women friends. I also believe that writing a progressive story is easier compared to being truly progressive in life. There are global dialogues about progressive ideas. Still, it might take a while for these to impact people’s thoughts.

Quick Guide to MAMI.

The screenings of Aattam are scheduled for October 30 at 2 pm at Malad INOX Inorbit Mall – Audi 2; November 1 at 4 pm at Andheri PVR ICON, Infiniti Mall – Audi 4; November 3 at 11 am at Goregaon PVR ICON, Oberoi Mall – Audi 5. BKC Maison PVR, Jio World Drive – Audi 5; November 1 at 6:15 pm at Goregaon PVR ICON, Oberoi Mall – Audi 5.