When Ponman reached theatres last week, it was a dream come true for Jothish Shankar. The ace art director is elated that his directorial debut is being talked about.
“I entered the industry to become a director. The plan was to assist a filmmaker. But I got the opportunity to assist an art director [in Thanthonni] and I took it up,” says Jothish. It was the right decision since he went on to work in some of the pathbreaking movies in the Malayalam industry and bagged two state awards – in 2019 for Kumbalangi Nights and Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 and in 2022 for Nna Thaan Case Kodu.
“But I did not not give up on my dream. It was eight years ago that I finally decided to make a film. I started looking for stories and there came a point when I thought that I should tell my own story. That took me to GR Indugopan, one of my favourite writers, ever since I read his work Beejabankile Penkutty. The story I told him was set in Kollam, his hometown. I insisted that a Kollam native should write it and after much coaxing he agreed. That became the novella, Naalanchu Cheruppakkar and eventually the film, Ponman,” he says. Ponman is scripted by Indugopan and Justin Mathew.
Basil Joseph in Ponman
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“Although I belong to Kuttanad [in Alappuzha district], once I passed out of college [Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts, Mavelikkara, where he studied sculpture], I lived in Kollam for a few years. A group of us friends formed a collective called Monthayam. We used to stay in a lodge and the incidents in the book happened when I stayed there. I am one of the characters,” he says.
Ponman is a critique on dowry and addresses it through a practice in some parts of Kerala, especially among the economically weak sections. There are agents/brokers who arrange for the gold jewellery on the condition that whatever amount the bride’s family receives as gifts during the wedding should go towards the cost of the gold. If the amount falls short, the jewellery not paid for has to be returned. “So, you will see people in the bride’s house who are assigned to collect the amount from the visitors. They will take down their names as well. It feels strange that there is nothing to be ashamed about neither for the one who gives the money and the one who receives,” says Jothish.
In Ponman, the bride is Stephy (Lijomol Jose) whose marriage is fixed with Mariyano (Sajin Gopu) and the dowry fixed is 25 sovereigns of gold. PP Ajesh (Basil Joseph) is the agent who arranges the jewellery (therefore the title Ponman, which means the guy who deals with pon or gold). But when Stephy’s family fails to muster the price of 12 sovereigns, Ajesh asks her to return the ornaments. She refuses, so too Mariyano because his family needs that gold for his sister’s marriage. There starts Ajesh’s relentless pursuit to get back the gold, leading to intense conflict between him and Mariyano.
Basil Joseph and Lijomol Jose in Ponman
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“This happened with a friend when his sister got married. I am sure this agent might still be around somewhere in Kollam. I can’t remember his name because this took place many years ago. Our team is looking forward to meet him!” Jothish says.
He adds, “The message the team wants to give against dowry is loud and clear. We are speaking for scores of women and their families, who go through a lot to raise money as dowry. I am happy that people from all walks of life have connected with the subject.”
The cast has been Ponman’s talking point. “Basil read the book before coming on board. I believe he is the most intelligent artist we have now. I respect him for the person and professional that he is. Having directed three movies, he knows the challenges involved. So he was around to make me feel comfortable and gave me the confidence whenever I got worried.”
With many hailing Ajesh as Basil’s best character till date, Jothish says that he does not want to take credit for that. “It’s all about him and how he approached the character.” Especially the scene where Ajesh encounters Stephy’s brother, Bruno (Anand Manmadhan) in a lodge with a lengthy, intense dialogue. “That just happened. I don’t know how to describe it.”
It was producer Vinayaka Ajith who suggested Sajin as the rough and tough Mariyano. “The role is very different from his humorous character Amban [in Aavesham]. Sajin gave his all to become the character who works at a chemmeen kettu (prawns farm). He learnt to row a country boat, walked around to get the tan and by the time the shoot started, he was my Mariyano.”
Jothish adds that Lijomol was the one who was with the team for the entire shoot. “She joined us 10 days before the shoot and was the last one to leave when we packed up after around 70 days.”
Sandhya Rajendran, who played her mother, has also come in for a lot of appreciation. Jothish adds that he shares a close relationship with Sandhya, who is carrying forward the legacy of her late father, veteran theatre artiste O Madhavan, along with her brother, actor Mukesh. “I have worked in their productions before getting into movies. She was the one who gave me the money when I had to attend my exams. It felt apt to have her in my first film. I also wanted the audience to see a new onscreen mother!”
Basil Joseph in Ponman
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The film is fully shot in and around Kollam, with Munroethuruthu as one of the main locations. While Jothish is the production designer, Kripesh Ayyappankutty has handled art direction. “Production design looks at a larger picture in which art direction is a major component. In Aarkkariyam, for example, I was the art director while Ratheesh Balakrishna Poduval was the production designer. Some movies need a production designer as in the case of Bramayugam, which called for a lot of research and references,” he explains, adding that Kripesh had put up quite a few sets in Ponman, like Stephy’s house and the motor shed where the thrilling fight sequence in mud in the climax takes place.
Jothish reveals that the fight, featuring Basil and Sajin, was shot over seven nights. “The film has several night sequences and I can’t thank Sanu chettan [cinematographer Sanu John Varughese] enough for making them look raw and real. He is one technician who puts his soul in each scene with his camera,” he says. Jothish was the art director in Sanu’s directorial debut, Aarkkariyam. He also mentions how composer Justin Varghese elevated the narrative with his songs and background score. The film has a track dedicated to Kollam, written by Anwar Ali and sung by Resmi Sateesh.
He stresses that being a first-time director had its challenges. “Direction is not something that can be learnt by watching a director at work. It is a person’s vision. Of course, you can pick up technical aspects from another director but you won’t get the creativity. The advantage I had was that having been in the industry for quite sometime I was aware of the challenges involved and to what extent things could get difficult.”
Jothish Shankar on the location of Ponman
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Reflecting on how art direction in Malayalam is getting discussed like never before, Jothish says, “That is because we have some intelligent directors now. Unless there is a director who knows the scope in art direction or production design we art directors will never get to experiment. For example, Bramayugam would not have happened for me if we did not have a director [Rahul Sadasivan] with that vision,” he explains.
Now that his film is out, Jothish is getting back to art direction with Rahul’s new film. “If an interesting story comes up, I probably will direct again,” he signs off.
Published – February 04, 2025 08:47 pm IST
