Ayalvaashi: Shooting for Soubin Shahir, Binu Pappu-starrer felt like workcation, says director Irshad Parari

When debutant filmmaker Irshad Parari had first announced Ayalvaashi, it had Prithviraj Sukumaran and Indrajith Sukumaran attached as leads. Though the pandemic resulted in changes in the cast with Soubin Shahir and Binu Pappu replacing the stars, Irshad tells us that he is “happy with changes that happened and most importantly about the movie” he has made with the young team.

“When a big star is part of the movie, the film’s business side gets executed faster, the film’s budget becomes big and you can increase the number of days of shoot,” he tells OTTplay, in an exclusive chat. “But Ayalvaashi is a smaller film and so there was never really any demand for huge infrastructure or logistics. So, I never felt disappointed about the change in the cast; in fact, I am excited about the final product.”

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The movie, which also has Nikhila Vimal, Naslen and Lijomol Jose, revolves around the quarrel between two neighbours. “In English, we are calling the movie ‘Neighbrawl’; that encapsulates precisely what the film is about. It’s about two neighbours of the same age group and what happens when something goes wrong between them,” says Irshad.

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On how Soubin and Binu adapted to the roles written for the Sukumaran brothers, he explains, “From the posters and trailers, the audience would have now understood how well they gel without their respective characters. If two different directors helm the same script, you would still end up with two different movies. It’s the same with actors; it becomes their version and interpretation of the character and we also make certain adjustments in the scripts based on who’s playing the character.”

Shooting with the current team also made for an enjoyable experience, the filmmaker reveals. “Everybody used to be on sets, whether they had shoot or not. The place where we filmed the movie, Irattupetta, is known for its food and after the day’s shoot, we would all go together to have food or just for walks. It felt more like a workcation. Also, everyone would openly discuss their characters and ask doubts. That’s because everybody shared the same wavelength. If it was a big star, we would organically feel respect and there would be a certain amount of withdrawal from them. None of that was there with this team, which was composed of young actors,” he says.

Ayalvaashi is set to hit theatres on April 21 as an Eid release along with Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham and Sulaikha Manzil.