It was a challenge for Raveendran

Actor Raveendran, who is best known for his disco avatar in the 80s, has taken a shift from acting and is concentrating more on writing stories for films. His maiden venture is Ennum Eppozhum, a family entertainer, starring Mohanlal and Manju Warrier in the lead roles. The actor considers the opportunity to write for a Sathyan Anthikkad project as a challenge and says, “It was a thrill for me to keep these actors in mind and write a story.It has been long since Manju and Mohanlal came together for a film.”
Manju plays a lawyer while Mohanlal a journalist in the film. Speaking about the characters, he says, “These are two parallel characters. Mohanlal and Manju do not play a couple. The movie has everything that we see in our day-to-day lives and is a realistic one. These two characters somehow meet and how they meet forms the plot of the story.”
So how were the characters formed? He says, “I keep an actor in my mind and develop a story that the audience would like to see onscreen. Mohanlal and Manju have delivered super hits, so to recreate that magic was a task. It is after Idukki Gold that I interacted with several media persons and that is how Mohanlal’s character was developed. Manju is seen as a bold woman and people would love to see more of her in the same way.”
Raveendran has been in the industry for three decades and believes that a lot has changed in M-Town over the years. “Filmmaking has changed a lot now. Youngsters are able to grasp many images at a time and that is reflected in their films. Concept filmmaking can also be seen now. A small concept is taken and developed into a subject keeping in mind the relevance of the story.”
Quiz the actor what’s the secret formula for the success of a film, and he says, “Audience is coming for entertainment and they want value for money, but that’s not happening here. Filmmakers shouldn’t neglect their needs. I feel the importance of a story is lost in Malayalam films. Story forms the foundation and then comes characters and screenplay. But now some dialogues or scenes are added randomly to
a story.”
The senior artiste is in no hurry to sign up a film. “I will only take up acting if some interesting characters come my way. I want to concentrate more on my film festival and scripts,” he signs off.