There are some key elements in any good film which elevate its aesthetic charm. Most often they get so deeply embedded in the plot that they go unnoticed. The character of Aravindan's childhood in the film 'Aravindante Athidhikal' is an example.
Played by Jonah Joseph Jijo, the character of child Aravindan, was a vital point in the narrative whose experience and reactions were the foundation of the story. A slight flub on his part would have lowered the gravity and vitality of the movie. Instead, the five-year-old showcased an incredible performance.
It's always tough to make kids act. So one would wonder if the situations were stage-managed to force out real emotion from Jonah.
"No, he was really acting. The scenes were explained to and he comprehended them fast," says director of the film M Mohanan, "But it is really tough to get the right emotions from children. We need to be extremely patient and Jonah was brilliant and his parents too helped him get his acts right."
The boy in UKG at Time Kids in Ernakulam has in fact inherited his acting traits from his parents. His father Jijo Joseph, who runs an event management firm had appeared in some films, while his mother Shamitha Jijo had her stints as anchor in various television channels. The family lives at Edappally.
"Jonah has done skits at the church and he is interested in acting. The director, the producer and the chief associate of the film, Vava, helped him portray the characterperfectly well," says Jijo.
No matter how it was worked out, kid Aravindan, the smiles, innocence and the grief on his countenance, will be imprinted permanently on the minds of the film lovers who have watched 'Aravindante Athidhikal'.
Not just Jonah, but the whole cast in the film has been a marvel to watch out for. For example, the character who appears as the younger Geethalakshmi played by Reshma, a post-graduate student from Pathanamthitta matched impeccably with the looks of Shantikrishna, who played the older version of Aravindan's mother. Meanwhile, the older Aravindan has been brilliantly portrayed by Vineeth Sreenivasan.
Similarly, the characters of Madhavan (Sreenivasan), Girija (Urvasi), Rasheed (Aju Varghese), Varada (Nikhila Vimal), Kousalyamma (KPAC Lalitha), Sreekrishnan (Kottayam Nazeer), Sumesh (Bijukuttan) were immaculately etched in Aravindan's world. Perhaps it was a commendable outing for Premkumar and Baiju as Venu and Hari respectively after a long time.
'Aravindante Athithikal', one of the most beautiful films released in recent times, tells the story of Aravindan who lives near Kollur Mookambika temple and assists his foster father Madhavan in running a tourist home.
A vexing childhood experience had left a deep bruise on his psyche and how the roots of his past is re-visited after a young aspiring dancer and her family come to stay in his tourist home for their their visit to the temple forms the crux of the story.
Written by Rajesh Raghavan the film is produced by Pradeepkumar Pathiyara and Noble Babu Thomas under the banner of Pathiyara Entertainment.
