Exclusive! Jayasurya: It takes guts to make films such as RRR that convince people to suspend their disbelief

Malayalam star Jayasurya is gearing up for his biggest project yet – a 3D supernatural fantasy thriller Kathanar - The Wild Sorcerer, which is directed by #Home filmmaker Rojin Thomas. The movie, which is touted to be made on a budget exceeding Rs 75 crore, could also be the first Malayalam film to be made using advance filmmaking technologies such as virtual production and motion capture.

Jayasurya in an exclusive chat with OTTplay says that he has allotted a year for the movie, which is expected to begin shoot in a few months. “I need to undergo a physical transformation for Kathanar and that’s why I haven’t done any other film this year, bar the cameo in Enthaada Saji. By the time, I am done shooting for Kathanar, 2022 would be over,” he says.

Kathanar, which is based on the legend of the priest named Kadamattathachan who is believed to have had supernatural powers, depends a lot on visual effects, says the actor. “When Rojin told me about certain scenes, I was unable to visualise them. We have been attuned to Hollywood films but when people narrate those kinds of stories in Malayalam, we don’t instantly conceive those visuals in our mind as such films have not yet been made in our industry. Here, everything is made in limited budgets and so our vision is also restricted,” he says, adding that Rojin shows him sketches from pre-viz and other techniques to make him understand better.

Jayasurya says that it’s a challenge that is more than keen to take up as it makes artistes and filmmakers conjure up stories that are beyond what has already been made. Taking the example of SS Rajamouli’s movies Eega, he says, “When Rajamouli comes and tells you, ‘A housefly will be your character’s enemy and it will kill you’. Our reply would be, ‘Ok, see you later.’ It’s not his fault, it’s our lack of vision because we haven’t seen such movies being made in our industry.”

The Kerala State Award-winning actor says that’s also why it’s an impressive feat with filmmakers dare to attempt such movies. “How do you explain Baahubali’s song sequence, or even RRR’s scene where the two protagonists run underwater?” he asks. “To make that convincing is difficult but Rajamouli has not given us a chance to doubt those sequences because the pace of the film is such that. And that’s not a mean feat. You are convincing them to suspend their belief and that takes a lot of guts.”

Jayasurya, who had G Prajesh Sen’s Meri Awaas Suno and Abhijith Joseph’s investigative thriller John Luther releasing in theatres last month, will next be seen in Nadirshah’s thriller Eesho, which will mark the actor’s second direct-to-OTT release after Ranjith Sankar’s Sunny.

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