Exclusive! Suresh Gopi’s Paappan required an expert craftsman like Joshiy to convey its intensity: RJ Shaan

The team of Suresh Gopi and Joshiy has over the years given Malayalam cinema films such as Lelam and Pathram that are still celebrated. The duo is all set for the release of their upcoming crime drama Paappan, which once again promises to entertain the audience.

In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, the film’s scriptwriter RJ Shaan tells us, “Paappan doesn’t have Sureshettan in a routine cop role. The character itself is very different from his previous movies. The film is a crime drama and his character’s life is tied in to the story.”

After watching the movie, people will realise Suresh Gopi was the best fit to play Abraham Mathew Mathan in this film, says the scriptwriter. “The character also respects Suresh ettan’s current age. He plays a cop who is into his retired life and it connects two generations as Neeta Pillai plays his daughter, who is also a police officer. It’s also a deeply-woven human story with layers of existential crisis and how rights and wrongs are relative,” Shaan adds.

On the genre of the movie, Shaan, who had earlier written C/o Saira Bhanu, says, “Malayalam has re-explored several genres in the past decade. While crime thrillers have been mined a lot in Malayalam cinema, crime dramas aren’t as explored. This film falls in that genre because it journeys through emotions, for instance, Dhruvam which had an intense script that blended both crime and drama. So, that novelty will be there in Paappan.”

The writer also says that the film benefitted a lot with director Joshiy coming onboard. In fact, Shaan had plans to helm the movie if the veteran filmmaker had passed it on. “The script required the deftness of an expert craftsman to convey its intensity and layers. When you are telling a matured cop story, you can’t just rely on a hero and villain set-up. The protagonist has seen a lot of life. We are exploring another crisis and story in life, after he has gone through the highs and lows and figured the rights and wrongs. So, it demanded that intensity in its making too and that’s where Joshiy sir’s experience helped,” says the scriptwriter.

Paappan, which also has Gokul Suresh, Kaniha, Rahul Madhav and Nyla Usha, is set to hit theatres on April 28.

Also read: Suresh Gopi is back as a police officer in Joshiy’s Paappan, here are the latest stills from the film