PremiumFor Barroz, Mohanlal would act and direct in his heavy battle suit without his energy dipping: Aniesh Upaasana
Filmmaker Aniesh Upaasana had shadowed Mohanlal on the sets of directorial debut Barroz as a still photographer
Last Updated: 12.45 PM, Aug 31, 2023
Though filmmaker Aniesh Upaasana has worked with Mohanlal for over a dozen years, mostly in his capacity as a photographer, the Janaki Jaane director says his stint with the superstar during the shoot of Barroz was a “totally different experience”. His reason is that it enabled him to see a side of Mohanlal that he wasn’t aware of and left him “in awe”.
In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Aniesh tells us that he had shadowed the superstar in the latter’s directorial debut for its entire shoot that lasted over five and a half months. “One thing that astonished me was why did it take him so long to direct a movie, because he’s a level above all the other filmmakers I have worked with,” says Aniesh, who was the still photographer of Barroz.
Also read: Barroz: Makers of Mohanlal-starrer unveil a pulsating action sequence edited out of the film
Ask him why and he explains, “I am a director myself and if there’s a confusion during a take, for instance, the entry of a character is not right or the ending is not proper, I would get stuck. But in the case of Lal sir, he would dole out five other options, within seconds, and it would be the perfect solution. His shot divisions also are on point. Only someone who knows the job inside out will be able to do that.”
Aniesh also says that as a filmmaker, the 63-year-old star’s energy was infectious – especially while helming a movie that had to be shot on sets that enabled 3D rendering and there were so many variables to take care of.
“At his age, he would tumble around for the action scenes and then immediately rush back to the monitor to see if the scenes have come out right. You should also take into account that he’s doing all this wearing a heavy battle suit. He would shoot inside the sets and then run to the monitor, which was outside in a tent. For retakes, he would once again go inside and repeat it. This happened day after day. So, there was a lot of physical effort involved,” says the director. “What’s amazing is that he doesn’t have to do any of this at this stage in his career. But it just makes him happy.”
On Barroz, which is currently scheduled for a December release, Aniesh says, “It’s a fantasy movie that the family audience would immensely enjoy. Visually, it’s going to be magnificent because Santosh Sivan is its cinematographer and the film’s visual language is what dominates it. His vision is crystal clear. Just like Lal sir has been unleashed as an actor and director in Barroz, Santosh sir had all freedom to do what he wanted. It was a learning curve watching the two masters at work.”
Aniesh, who is set to helm another film with Saiju Kurup by the end of this year, said that he would always cherish the experience of watching Mohanlal “act and direct”. “I don’t know if he would helm another movie or if he does, whether I would be part of that film,” he concludes.