Vijay Suparum Pournamiyum starring Asif Ali and Aishwarya Lekshmi in the lead roles and directed by Jis Joy is running to packed theatres garnering positive reviews from all corners. Asif and Aishwarya, who are excited about the movie’s success, came together on Manorama Online's special chat show to share some interesting tidbits about the movie and their experiences in the industry.
Calling the movie a family entertainer, Aishwarya said that she was thrilled to have worked with Asif. “When we went for the 9 o'clock show at Kavitha theatre (Ernakulam), lots of people had turned up to watch the movie. There was even an old grandmother among the audience. I felt very happy knowing that such elderly people too had come to watch it,” noted the actress.
Jis, the family man
Asif recalled that families had turned up in huge numbers when his movie Sunday Holiday, directed by the same filmmaker, had hit the screens. He revealed that Jis would watch his movies alone after the final edit has been done. “If he gets bored at some point, he wouldn’t hesitate to cut it out of the movie. He wouldn’t care whether that scene was shot at a special location, spending so much money. He would ruthlessly cut it off,” Asif said about his director.
Aishwarya, during her modelling days, had worked in a few TV commercials directed by Jis. She says that he is someone who motivates the artists to bring out the best in them. “After canning a shot, he would say that we did well. However, he would go for another shot asking a variation from us and keep the previous one as a safe option. It was the same while filming the movie as well. He would take only the shots which are required,” recalled Aishwarya.
“Be it the lead actor or someone who makes an appearance in just a shot, Jis would try his best to present that person in the most perfect way. I, in fact, am the representative of laziness in Malayalam cinema. During the narration of many of my movies, my character is often explained as a lazy young man. I studied BBA. It took me five years to complete the six semesters which normally gets over in three years. I have written 18 supplementary exams. The character called Vijay has many similarities to me,” admitted Asif with a smile.
Characters close to life
Aishwarya opened up that Pournami was the closest and the most similar to her. She admires Pournami’s confidence that’s she would bounce back even if she faces setbacks in life. The young actress too believes that she could confidently play a character even if she knows nothing much about it. “It is when I act in movies like this that I am able to improve my acting skills,” observed Aishwarya.
“Vijay has many problems in his life which fails to get solved despite him trying so hard. He befriends Pournami and finds the confidence to go forward, when he had finally decided to give up. In a scene Pournami asks him whether he wasn’t ashamed, being a man, to demand dowry. But Vijay replies that the situation at his house was such,” Asif elaborated about his character.
Aishwarya admitted that she wasn’t sure whether there would be a formal meeting between her and future husband in real life. She said it won’t be possible to understand a person in just a single meeting. However, she hopes that the preferences of the other person could be understood by openly talking about it, if he is someone like Vijay.
It was the third time that Asif has collaborated with Jis. The actor admitted that both the previous movies (Bicycle Thieves and Sunday Holiday) had become more successful than he had expected. “Many movies that I had acted in before Sunday Holiday weren’t as successful. However, both the movies directed by Jis before this one were hits. Everyone had great confidence in him when he was going to make his third movie. That is why all of us were able to make it an incredible film,” said the actor.
“I am very sensitive when it comes to movies. I act in movies hoping that they become successful. But some may fail to hit the mark owing to various reasons. It is painful and makes me sad,” concluded Aishwarya.
