Exclusive! Adithattu director Jijo Antony talks about the risks of shooting the film entirely at sea

Filming outdoors during pandemic has been deemed unsafe, but shooting at sea is equally fraught with risks, if not more, says director Jijo Anthony, who today is gearing up to film the underwater sequences of his movie Adithattu in the Arabian Sea. 

The film’s cast, which includes Sunny Wayne, Shine Tom Chacko, Prashant Alexander, Jayapalan and Murugan Martin, had completed their shoot this Friday and had posted a message: “Thankful to God and Mother Nature. Incredibly grateful to the calm and deep sea. We wrapped up.” For Jijo, the journey continues for a few more days as they shoot the underwater portions. 

Talking exclusively to OTTplay, the filmmaker says, “It’s probably the first Malayalam film to be shot entirely at sea. Usually there are just one or two scenes at sea. In Adithatthu, apart from two scenes, the entire movie is filmed at sea as the story is set in a boat and revolves around eight fishermen from Neendakara.”

Ask him about the experience of shooting the movie and Jijo says, “The shoot was risky because if someone fell off the boat, that was it. Everyone including the cast and crew put their lives on line to complete the movie. Also, we shot when the trawling ban was enforced; there was rain and the sea was tumultuous at that time.”

The team had used two big boats and a smaller one as part of the shoot that covered areas in the Arabian Sea from Thangassery in Kollam to Kappil and Varkala. “It is difficult to shoot on a boat because it keeps rocking. So, we had gone on a boat for a week to get acclimatised to the situation when the water was choppy,” he says. “We had shot for almost 26 days; this also included night shoots. Somedays, we stayed at sea overnight to film the portions and then returned to land in the afternoon.”

The movie’s cinematography is by Pappino with Richard Antony in charge of the underwater photography. “Visually, it’s going to be a different experience. Right now, we are planning to capture whatever we get to see underwater in these regions, unlike in the pristine waters of Lakshadweep. It’s a huge risk and that’s what we are trying today at Kollam,” says the director. 

Jijo also informs that they are yet to decide on the release platform or date of Adhithattu, which is scripted by Khais Millen. “The movie will take some time during its post-production phase. So, we will take a call on the release only after that,” he concludes.