Would have had to drop Ajagajantharam if we were to shoot it now: Tinu Pappachan

Director Tinu Pappachan’s team is a reasonably happy lot these days as they are busy with the post-production of their film Ajagajantharam, which has Antony Varghese in the lead and has Arjun Ashokan in a pivotal role. The film, which is set against the backdrop of a temple festival, concluded its shoot just before the lockdown was enforced in March.
“We consider ourselves extremely lucky,” says Tinu.“If we had a lot of portions left, we would have had to drop the project altogether because apart from 10 scenes, the entire movie is shot in the temple premises during an ultsavam. So, it’s a relatively big budget movie that has several action sequences involving a lot of crowds, which would have been near impossible to do right now.”
Talking about shooting in the post-lockdown phase, Tinu, who had earlier directed Swanthantryam Ardharathriyil, says, “We can’t shoot every movie indoors. Cinema is a creative art and if we shoot every film in a closed setting, it doesn’t push the creative boundaries. I am not saying it’s impossible but then we have to look for such content. That’s also why I think even after the government has permitted shooting, not many films have resumed. Take Antony’s Aaravam, which had begun the shoot and is set in a college; we don’t know when that can start again?”
While he concedes that it might take time for theatres to re-open, Tinu stresses, “I believe Ajagajantharam should be watched in theatres and hence our team including the producer has decided to wait.”