Before the bridge, Mammootty and Balyakalasakhi put Perumbalam on the map

For filmmaker Pramod Payyannur, the inauguration of the Perumbalam bridge by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday did more than end the island’s long wait for road connectivity. It also brought back memories of a time when the village, then reachable only by ferry, briefly became the setting for his Mammootty-starrer ‘Balyakalasakhi.’

Readers of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s celebrated novel of the same name are familiar with the village setting where childhood companions Majeed and Suhara grow up before life pulls them apart. When Pramod and his team began work on the film adaptation, they searched for a landscape that could evoke the world of Basheer’s writing. After months of scouting, they arrived at Perumbalam, a small island in the Vembanad Lake, about an hour from Vaikom.

At the time, Perumbalam was accessible only by jankar (vehicle ferry) and small boats. During the 28-day schedule of the film’s shoot, the quiet island briefly turned into a hub of activity. Mammootty travelled to the location daily and sometimes brought his car across the jankar from the mainland. He also used a boat at times. Mammootty’s friends from Chembu in Vaikom would occasionally visit the set to watch the actor perform the dual roles of Majeed and his stern father. The presence of actors Isha Talwar, Meena, and Mamukkoya also drew curious onlookers from nearby areas.

Recalling the shoot in a conversation with Onmanorama, Pramod spoke warmly about the island’s residents and their cooperation with the film crew. “On some days, we had to hire the jankar for three or four trips,” he said. “The locals were always ready to help. They would bring tender coconuts for Mammootty and the crew. There was always fresh fish. Their hospitality made the experience memorable,” he added.

For the director, Perumbalam offered more than a scenic backdrop. “It had a charm that echoed the period evoked in Basheer’s works. To do justice to the film, I needed a setting that could carry the spirit of that era. We scouted several islands, but Perumbalam alone felt untouched by the bustle of the mainland,” he said.

The island’s pale sands along the Vembanad Lake and its expansive sunsets helped shape the film’s visual tone. “Basheer’s novel celebrates the landscape of water that surrounds Majeed and Suhara’s world, and Perumbalam captured that feeling,” Pramod said.

Shooting in such a remote location was not without challenges. Travelling constantly by ferry posed logistical difficulties. The director said the experience ultimately outweighed the hardships. After the Perumbalam schedule, the crew moved to Kolkata for the next phase of filming. This contrast also reflected the film’s narrative movement between the calm of village life and the bustle of the city.

The shoot itself began with an unexpected setback. “A day before filming started, our cinematographer Hari Nair injured his eye in a small accident. But we went ahead with the schedule despite the difficulties,” Pramod recalled.

At the time of the ‘Balyakalasakhi’ shoot, few filmmakers had used Perumbalam as a location. Years later, director K.P. Kumaran filmed his 2022 work ‘Gramavrikshathile Kuyil’ on the island.

For ‘Balyakalasakhi,’ art director Santosh Raman modified an existing house in the village to recreate Majeed’s family home. “Majeed belongs to a relatively well-off household in the story. We wanted the house to reflect that,” Pramod said. Parts of the structure were renovated for the film, and the house remained in the village afterward.

He also remembers the modest set created for Suhara’s home. Suhara was played by Isha Talwar. “The house remained there for some time after the shoot and even became a small attraction for visitors,” he said.

For the residents of Perumbalam, however, the island’s story has now entered a new era. After years of depending on ferries for daily commute, the village is finally connected to the mainland by the newly inaugurated Rainbow Bridge.