Expectations had peaked when the team of Kishkindha Kaandam announced their next project. And they did not disappoint with ekō, the slow-burn thriller set in the wild with dynamic characters and their complicated power dynamics.
When I caught up with two key names behind the movie, director Dinjith Ayyathan and cinematographer-scriptwriter Bahul Ramesh, happiness was palpable in their voice. “I was confident that ekō would work at the box office, just like I was about Kishkindha Kaandam. But I had never expected this level of appreciation,” says Dinjith.
He gives credit to Bahul and his immersive thought process. “It is the content that excites me always and Bahul keeps coming up with unusual themes, terrain and characters. None of the scripts I read gives me the kick that I get from his writing. His talent is on a different level and I find it interesting to travel through the world his stories create,” he says.
Dinjith adds that in this era of social media explosion, you need fresh content to excite people and he is in awe of the freshness that Bahul brings to the table. “Audiences’ expectations put immense pressure on us to make the film work. When people ask about how I took the risk of making such a subject work at the box office, the truth is the thought did not cross my mind when I decided to direct it. I was only excited about telling a story that is not seen or heard in Indian or world cinema.”
Bahul Ramesh (left) and Dinjith Ayyathan
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Bahul responds, “The rapport between us is such that there is no need for verbal communication when it comes to executing something. That saves time.” This is Dinjith’ third film and Bahul was the cinematographer of Dinjith’ directorial debut, Kakshi: Amminipilla.
ekō is set in a mystic mountain range, presumably on the Kerala-Karnataka border, where we are introduced to Kuriachan, the dog breeder/trainer, who is on the run from the police, his Malaysian wife Mlaathi, her caretaker, Peeyos, the pack of dogs that guard their home atop the mountain and people who turn up to avenge Kuriachan.
Bahul says he started writing ekō before Kishkindha Kaandam went on the floors. “Since there was time for the shoot to start, I thought of writing something. The inspiration was a dialogue: Sometimes protection and restriction, look the same. I wanted a subject where I could apply that concept. Since I needed a milieu that was affordable, I placed it in late ‘70s,” says Bahul. He named it Chronicles of Kuriachan and Dinjith was game to direct it when he read the story.
Bahul says that the Malaysian angle came into the narrative organically. “I had given South Asian features for the character, Mlaathi. That was when I remembered meeting my father’s friend’s wife who is from Malaysia. Had she been from another country, Mlaathi would have been of that nationality!”
The trilogy
ekō is also the final work in Bahul’s animal trilogy, the others being Kishkindha Kaandam and the web series, Kerala Crime Files(KCF) 2. “Animals often become the bright patch in a conflict-ridden narrative. I thought about writing a trilogy when my friend Abhijith, an associate director, introduced me to the concept through Hotfuzz, which is part of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. Once I came to know of other trilogies I decided to give it a try.”
After he finished ekō, he wrote one more script. “My thought was that if they were not made into movies, I might as well release them as a short story collection. That was when Ahammed ikka (Ahammed Kabeer, director of KCF 2) approached me to write the series. So I took the dog shelter component from my third script, blended it in the investigation story in which dogs played a huge role and thus the trilogy was ready.”
On the title
Dinjith says it took time to arrive at the title ekō, which is the phonetic spelling of the word echo. “We couldn’t come up with an apt Malayalam title. Echo was the first in the list of English words I suggested to Bahul and he liked it. Then we decided to write it differently. We also realised that the meaning it holds in other languages, such as strong, first born, reverberation etc, is related to the film’s theme.”
Two of the significant characters in the cast are played by non-Malayali actors — Bollywood actor Saurabh Sachdeva is Kuriachan and Meghalaya-native Biana Momin essays Mlaathi.“We wanted a fresh face, that too someone as imposing as Raghuvaran to become Kuriachan, and that’s how Saurabh came in. He is an excellent artiste, but a late-bloomer in Hindi films, in spite of the fact that he has been the acting coach for many Bollywood actors. Initially I was taken aback by his mannerisms, but later realised that it was his style, especially when he delivered Malayalam dialogues. He used a particular body language and that worked,” says Dinjith. Actor Bilas Chandrahasan dubbed for Saurabh.
Biana Momin in ekō
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Auditions for Mlaathi took them to the North-East. “It was not practical to bring down a Malaysian actor. Auditions in Nagaland did not give any result either. That was when (director) Christo Tomy sent me the photo of Biana, who had acted in a short film made by his friend. Although we couldn’t see that film she impressed us in the auditions, especially with her energy,” says Dinjith, adding that KPAC Leela dubbed for her.
Sim Zhi Fei, who played young Mlaathi, is a Malaysian model. “Our producer, MRK Jhayaram, has acquaintances in Malaysia and he helped us find her. In fact, he stood by our vision, giving us unconditional support and freedom throughout the movie,” Dinjith adds.
While Bahul had noticed Sandeep Pradeep, who nailed it as Peeyos, in Antakshari, he came under Dinjith’s radar in Falimy. “I was impressed with his impeccable timing in Falimy. When ekō was still a script, our plan was to have an actor with star value. But the success of Kishkindha Kaandam gave us the confidence to go ahead with Sandeep, especially after having heard positive feedback about his work from the teams of Alappuzha Gymkhana and Padakkalam, both which had not released then.”
Sandeep Pradeep in ekō
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Besides Bahul, ekō has almost the same crew of Kishkindha Kaandam. Bahul says being the scriptwriter and cinematographer complement each other. “I am confident about visually executing the scenes. I also keep logistics in mind, like how to make maximum use of a location. I can also analyse if the work is progressing on the right track or not.”
Bahul adds that he makes his writings descriptive because he wants it to be an easy read for his father, wife, a cousin or his friend who are usually the first to read his work. “They shouldn’t feel obliged to read it just because I am family.”
He is also in the habit of listening to music while writing. If it was the score from Interstellar for Kishkindha Kaandam, in ekō it was a piece from Inception and a specific background score from Season. But he did not share this with composer Mujeeb Majeed, who has created an exhilarting soundscape for the movie. “Although he asked if there was any reference music, I didn’t tell him about Inception because I didn’t want him to be restricted by that thought. He ended up creating innumerable original sound tracks. My only suggestion to him was to refrain from using the typical score of a thriller and instead go for bold melodies that have feminine aesthetics. It was heartening to see him work without sleep to finish it within the limited time available,” says Bahul.
The conversation deviates to the dogs, which have dominating presence in the narrative. “The sequences came out so well because of trainer Jijesh S who extracted the right reaction shots from the dogs, editor Sooraj ES who placed the shots with precision and Vishnu Govind (audiographer) who gave gravity and depth to the dogs’ barks and growls.”
ekō was not an easy movie to make, say both Dinjith and Bahul. Inclement weather was the biggest challenge throughout the shoot up in the hills. “Rain, strong winds, mist — we battled it all on the same day and this led to continuity issues. Everyday we had to finish the shoot with no time for playback before the weather changed,” says Bahul.
Dinjith adds, “Looking back, we think it was all for the best. It feels like a blessing now.”
