Shaji N Karun and his unfulfilled dream to direct 'Kadal' with Jaya Bachchan in a key role

It was ill fate that prevented Shaji N Karun from turning his dream of making 'Kadal' (The Sea) into a film. Just two days after 'Kadal' was published, Shaji came to meet me in Kannur. I had known him for a long time. He said, “Don’t give this story to anyone else. I want it.” I replied, “Alright, do whatever you want with it.”

We soon decided to scout locations for the film. From Ladakh, we traveled in all directions. Making Kadal into a film was one of Shaji’s greatest dreams. I happily agreed, only because it was Shaji.

Mohanlal's name was suggested for the role of the Guru and several renowned women actors from across the country were considered for the mother and daughter roles. Shaji went ahead with its pre-production works. It was initially said that Jaya Bhaduri ( Jaya Bachchan) would play the mother’s role. She and Shaji had studied together at the Pune Film Institute. Shaji even gave her an English translation of the story.

At that time, Jaya once mentioned in an interview, “When I look in the mirror, I see myself as the mother in Kadal.” The project was supposed to be produced by Amitabh Bachchan’s production company (ABCL). But the company suffered losses after organising the Miss World event in Bengaluru and eventually shut down. Still, Jaya was willing to produce the film on her own, but Shaji didn’t agree. After that, several other names were considered for the film.

Later, Shaji moved on to other projects. The last time we spoke, he told me he was planning to make a Hindi film titled 'Gadha.' I jokingly asked him if I would ever get to see Kadal made into a film before I died.

Much later, a Malayalam actress who had played one of the female leads in Shaji’s 'Kutty Srank' approached me and asked for the rights to make 'Kadal' into a film. She also paid me one lakh rupees as remuneration and insisted on playing the mother’s role. But that attempt also didn’t materialise. Even in a recent interview, Shaji mentioned that he still wanted to direct Kadal.

I once asked Shaji, “Everyone makes films with a camera, but why does it become poetry when you do it?” To that, he replied by asking me, “Everyone uses the Malayalam language, but why does it shine when Pappettan uses it?”