In the recent Amal Neerad flick CIA, the protagonist Aji Mathew (Dulquer Salman) is a budding comrade in Pala. The Communist party office is where he arrives at midnight to share his lovelorn tales with political stalwarts familiar to all of us! The first entry is by none other than comrade Joseph Stalin himself, coming out after a heated discussion with the rest.
As Aji enters the office library, there are three eminent personalities seated around the table. Figures that Aji is certain would help him with solutions to the impending problem in his life. The German revolutionary Karl Marx, the Russian statesman Vladimir Lenin and the Cuban hero Che Guevara can be seen in full garb and get-up, complete with Che’s trademark cigar! All three seemed to have boarded Aji’s dream aircraft and landed at the EMS Memorial Library at Ramapuram just to fix his relationship problems.
Handsome Sumith, dashing Che Guevara!
Actress Simran’s younger brother Sumith Naval is perhaps more familiar to Malayalees as the character Bijo John Kurisinkal in Big B. Both Sumith and Che have a beard that is not too thick in appearance, with sparse hair distribution. The striking resemblance to the fierce and passionate Che Guevara had him smoking away a Cuban Cigar in the film. Amal’s acquaintance with Sumith goes back to his days with the Ram Gopal Varma production house.
When Karl Marx finally smiles!
Sal Yusuf that played the character of the foreigner Harrisons in Amal’s film Iyobinte Pusthakam is the Karl Marx look alike in the film. A Britisher, Sal is settled in Bengaluru and married to a Malayalee. He is an active presence in the theatre and ad film scene. When Aji mocks him by bringing up the subject of his love letters to his muse Jenny, Karl Marx is seen giving a rare smile. Though hidden behind his profuse beard and moustache, he is clearly blushing and smiling with his eyes!
Factory owner Stalin
Well, this Stalin is a French man named Thomas Druin settled in Puducherry. He owns a factory there. When the acting bug strikes, he shows his face in some theatre performances or advertisements. With his looming height and physique, handlebar moustache, powerful tone and military garb, Stalin expresses to Aji vehemently his displeasure with the other comrades in the room. With that one scene, he makes a super impression in the viewer’s mind as the Soviet leader.
Clean shave Lenin
The Russian Peter Grabinsky that played Lenin in the film is actually bald and clean shave. He is often a part of theatre or films in Bengaluru or Chennai. Peter was the last comrade to have been selected. Many wannabe Lenins attended a screen test at Fort Kochi and finally Peter won the role.
Make-up artist Saji Koratty is the man behind the spot-on look of all the four comrades. Sameera Saneesh handled the costumes of the leaders excellently. Since these were known figures, the look had to be near perfect without any compromises. Many did the voice test for Che Guevara and it was finally Fahadh Faasil that gave voice for his Malayalam dialogues. Venu Mariyapuram dubbed for Marx, Prakash Kothamangalam for Lenin and Arun Nair gave the voice for Stalin. A school in Erattupetta was where the ancient looking party office was set up.
