Veteran filmmaker Bhadran recalls an incident that happened around five years ago on actor Mohanlal’s birthday. A group of five friends, from Angamaly, came to see Bhadran with a strange yet simple request. They wanted to watch ‘Spadikam’ in theatres! The friends told Bhadran that a theatre in Angamaly had half of the movie. They asked the filmmaker to request the theatre owners to give them the copy of the movie.
Interestingly, they just wanted to enjoy Mohanlal’s mass action scenes and his swag, on the big screen. Bhadran confesses that he was surprised by the strange request. He says that hundreds of movie lovers had been requesting him to rerelease ‘Spadikam’ so that they could enjoy the cult classic movie, once again in the theatres. Bhadran speaks about ‘Spadikam’ as the movie is getting a rerelease on the big screen, this week.
Did you ever think about making a sequel?
I was sure that there shouldn’t be a sequel even when I was writing the screenplay and then shooting the movie. If it happened, then it would be so unnatural. The father, who used to call him the ‘devil’, finally realises that it was he who made the son into a devil. In the end, the son embraces the father who realises his follies, and says that he doesn’t need anything more. Will that son pick up fights again, showing off his signature move by removing his dhoti or lead a wayward life anymore? I had decided that there wouldn’t be a sequel as the father realises the real worth of his son and the latter turns into a shining crystal.
There aren’t many who haven’t watched ‘Spadikam’. Do you think the same audience would return to watch the movie again?
Wouldn’t we keep listening to a song that has touched our soul, repeatedly? I believe that ‘Spadikam’ is like that for the Malayali movie lovers. A television or a laptop screen cannot reflect the true spirit of ‘Spadikam’. You could enjoy the real soul of the movie only on the big screens. Besides, the theme of this movie is still relevant. ‘Spadikam’ remains a textbook that has stood the test of time, about how a father should not be. It also gives some important parenting lessons.
Is the new version longer than the original?
Additional shots have been added in the new version that has been created in the latest dolby technology. This version is almost eight and half minutes longer than the original one. For that, we shot for over eight days, without any artists. In Aadu Thoma’s intro scene, he kills a kid in the goat shed and drinks the blood. We had used forty goats to film that scene. The same scene was reshot with five hundred goats. Producer R Mohan had the negative of the film. It was then converted into digital format. I along with a few friends, had spent around Rs 2 crore, through a company called Geo Matrix, to rerelease ‘Spadikam’ in the theatres.
Would you release the movie in OTT too?
Spadikam Reloaded should be enjoyed in the theatres. We have also decided that this movie wouldn’t have an OTT or a satellite release for at least three years.
What are your future projects?
You could surely expect that soon. I am currently working on two projects. The script of ‘Joothan’ is ready. Another movie with Mohanlal in the lead role too would happen soon. He will be playing a character named Jim Kenny in that movie. It is a road movie with some strong characters.
