Mammootty-starrer Kaathal is winning the approval of both the critics and audience. But initially, another actor was supposed to play the lead role in the film. Adarsh Sukumaran, who co-wrote the script, says that he had never expected megastar Mammootty to play the protagonist in their movie.
“I did not have any actor in mind while writing the story and screenplay. Even though Kaathal is my third film to be released, this is actually the first screenplay written by me and Paulson. Among the plot lines we had come up with during the Covid period, the best story was made into Kaathal. We thought of this as a small film. We had envisioned another Malayalam actor as the protagonist Mathew Devassy. We met the actor, narrated the story to him and he really liked it. But then due to certain reasons, that did not happen,” Adarsh explained.
The writer also said that they had approached 10-12 directors with the movie's script.
“All of them were of the opinion that the content of the movie is good. But several of them voiced apprehensions about whether this film should be made now. But meeting filmmaker Jeo Baby changed the fortunes of both us and the film. He really liked the story. And he was the one who asked, ‘Why not consider Mammootty for the lead role?’ Thus, we got an opportunity to narrate the story to Mammootty via producer Anto Joseph.
“But when we first spoke to Mammootty, he had certain doubts about the subject. Believing that he too would not be interested, we also did not pursue the matter further.
“However, another Malayalam actor told Jeo Baby to narrate the story to Mammootty once again. So, he directly sent a message to Mammootty. The megastar, who sought to know if this was the same story we had narrated to him earlier, also asked for a one-line. So, we sent a synopsis and he replied, asking ‘What is the rest of the story'. Immediately, we sent a narration in the audio format. He replied that he would think about it. Exactly a week later, Mammootty asked us to come home to narrate the story. We went over to his house and read out the script in detail. And a week later, he gave his nod for the film and also agreed to produce it,” Adarsh recounted.
About the heroine
Adarsh said that several actresses were considered to play the female lead in the movie, but they could not come up with a name that everyone agreed upon.
"Then one day, Mammootty himself suggested the name of Jyothika. We also thought that she would be perfect for the role. He also arranged a meeting with Jyothika to directly narrate the story to her. I, along with Paulson and Jeo Baby, went to Chennai to meet her at her house. And we were greeted by Suriya sir at the door. Looking back, I still find that day to be incredible. Suriya sir spoke with great admiration about ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’, directed by Jeo Baby. He also spoke enthusiastically about other films in Malayalam.
“We narrated the story to Jyothika in English, Malayalam and whatever Tamil we knew. Also, gave her the synopsis. But even then we were not expecting her to say yes to playing 'Omana' in the movie. But a few days later, her manager telephoned us that Jyothika had agreed to do the role,” the writer recounted.
Story conceived during Covid
Adarsh said that he and Paulson wrote the script during the Covid period while staying at two houses.
"First we spoke over the phone and came up with a one-line screenplay. Then we set a target for every day and began writing. In the morning, we will divide two scenes each between us. In the night, we would call and I would first read out the scenes I wrote, and then he would read out the scenes he wrote. After taking in the feedback of both, the scenes would be rewritten. Thus, we were able to complete the writing in 35 days,” he said.
Screenwriter Adarsh further said that it was no surprise to him that Mammootty chose this film. “Because he is not an actor who prefers to stay in the safe zone. He is someone who breaks the image. Though he has done over 450 films, you would never have seen him like how he is in this movie,” he explained.
