I'm an accidental actor, making 'Suttu' the dog perform was rewarding: ‘Pennum Porattum’ director Rajesh Madhavan on debut

The toughest actor on the sets of Pennum Porattum did not speak a word, did not demand retakes and certainly did not follow call sheets. He simply wagged his tail, got tired after a couple of hours and needed long breaks. For actor-turned-director Rajesh Madhavan, making the dog “perform” became the most challenging and unexpectedly rewarding part of his directorial debut.

Rajesh laughs when he recalls those days. “You cannot do a full-time shoot with an animal. If Suttu shot for two hours, he needed four hours of rest,” he says. “Understanding his emotions and getting the reactions we needed was a collective effort from all of us on set.” That effort is now visible on screen, where Suttu, the dog at the centre of the narrative, almost feels like a character with agency rather than a prop within the chaos of a village drama.

Pennum Porattum, which has been receiving positive responses from audiences, unfolds around two narrative triggers that steadily unsettle a seemingly quiet village. One is Suttu, a dog the villagers begin to suspect is rabid, triggering panic and paranoia. The other is Charu, played by Raina Radhakrishnan, who is propositioned by Kumar for a one-time, no-strings sexual encounter. These two incidents, vastly different in nature, ripple through the community and expose buried tensions, prejudices and insecurities.

What stands out in the film is the palpable sense of chaos that slowly engulfs the village, which Rajesh chose to portray using largely unfamiliar faces. Most of the cast comprises debutants from Palakkad. The decision, he says, was deliberate and non-negotiable. “I was very particular that the people in the film should look like actual villagers we see and not like known actors,” he explains. “They had to look like the residents of Pattada. There was a lot of groundwork behind casting, and it took us seven to eight months before we finalised everyone.”

The lengthy casting process was followed by workshops that helped the newcomers ease into the world of cinema. Shooting itself stretched over nearly 80 days, a schedule that demanded patience and flexibility, especially when working with first-time actors. Rajesh admits there were moments of difficulty, but he also believes the freshness they brought to the film was invaluable. “When they act, there is a certain rawness and honesty. That freshness would not have been there if I had replaced them with experienced actors,” he says. For him, the challenge was not to polish them into conventional performers but to retain that natural rhythm while guiding them through the technical demands of filmmaking.

The story itself has roots in real-life experiences, a blend of the personal and the observed. Rajesh credits writer Ravisankar for the seed of the idea. “Ravisankar had a dog, and some portions of the narrative were inspired by his experiences with it. That is how the thread of the dog running away came into the film,” he shares. The second strand, involving the family conflict in the plot, was also drawn from real incidents. “We took these two real-life triggers and blended them to form the basic crux of the movie,” Rajesh says.

Suttu, interestingly, is also the dog’s real name. He had been with the team since he was just four days old. A trainer from Vaikom worked with him extensively, preparing him for specific actions required in the film. But beyond training, the crew had to learn to read his moods and respond accordingly. Rajesh points out that even the editing process played a crucial role in shaping Suttu’s on-screen presence.

For Rajesh, Pennum Porattum is more than just a debut directorial venture. It is the culmination of a long-held dream. He describes himself as an “accidental actor” who always harboured the ambition to direct. “There was a time when my passion was always to direct, but an acting opportunity came my way and that is how I became an actor,” he says. Over the years, he consciously used the breaks between acting projects to focus on filmmaking, preparing himself for the day he would finally helm a film. He believes his journey as an actor ultimately helped him step into the director’s chair with greater empathy.

His acting experience, he notes, became especially useful while working with a largely inexperienced cast. He could anticipate their anxieties, the mental blocks that come with facing the camera for the first time and the struggle to deliver dialogues naturally. “As an actor, I can understand the mental space they might be in. I could help them say dialogues without trouble and perform without overthinking,” he explains.

The title Pennum Porattum has also sparked curiosity. While Porattu Nadakam is a well-known folk theatre tradition from Palakkad, Rajesh clarifies that the film’s title does not directly draw from it. Instead, the inspiration comes from a ritual known as Chaliya Porattu practiced in Kasaragod. At the same time, he acknowledges that the film borrows certain flavours from folk performance traditions, particularly in its music and local textures, to root the story firmly within a village milieu.

Given its village setting and ensemble-driven storytelling, comparisons with films like Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam are inevitable. Rajesh, however, believes the similarities are largely superficial. “Maybe all these films share a local flavour, but the themes and thoughts behind them are very different. How I see these themes and how others see them can also be different,” he says, gently distancing his work from easy categorisation.