Janaki Jaane director Aniesh Upaasana: If not for 2018, people would have still waited for OTT release of movies

A few days after director Aniesh Upaasana’s comeback film Janaki Jaane, which stars Navya Nair and Saiju Kurup had released, the filmmaker took to his social media page to post that the movie, despite getting good reviews from the audience, was losing out on its existing screens. The reason being the box-office juggernaut 2018, helmed by Jude Anthany Joseph, that was preferred by theatre owners over the “small film” like Janaki Jaane.

As the latter now awaits its OTT release on Disney+ Hotstar, Aniesh, in an exclusive chat with OTTplay, tells us the impact of his social media post, while also breaking down some aspects from his family entertainer.

Soon, after the release of Janaki Jaane, you had put up a social media post saying that the movie didn’t get enough theatres because more screens were allotted to 2018. Do you feel that releasing Janaki Jaane while a movie such as 2018 was running to packed houses was an unwise decision?

There’s no reason to see releasing the film while 2018 was running in theatres in any negative way, because that’s the movie that got people back to cinema halls. If not for 2018, the viewers would have still waited for the OTT release of movies. I think a section of people that came back to theatres because of 2018 had also watched Janaki Jaane.

Also read: Janaki Jaane review: Navya Nair, Saiju Kurup shine in Aniesh Upaasana’s well-written, tightly-knit movie 

These days, people decide which movies to watch in theatres. 2018 is a film that many wanted to watch on the big screen, while Janaki Jaane, they thought it would be better if they waited for its OTT release. That said, after I had put up a post on social media, we actually got a lot more screens and the movie played for 50 days in places like Palakkad.

How was the feedback from the audience and what are you expecting after its OTT release on Disney+ Hotstar?

What we tried to tell was a small story, but it was also a story that everybody was familiar with. However, nobody has told the story on screen before. Janaki Jaane is a tale that the audience could relate with instantly. There would someone like Janaki in our homes or neighbourhood.

It’s also a film that doesn’t have any expletives. If you look at movies by Sathyan Anthikad, you can confidently take your children to watch them in theatres. I wanted to make Janaki Jaane as a clean family entertainer. That’s the feedback I have been getting from the audience too. I am hoping for the same after its OTT release.

The ending of the movie was something that appealed to a lot of people. Even when you say that you wanted to make a movie like the yesteryear hits of Sathyan Anthikad, the ending mirrored the mindset of new-age filmmakers. You’d expect Janaki, especially after her transformation, to react differently but she hardly says a word, and yet it’s the most impactful response.

That’s the only reaction necessary. Let’s look at Kottayam Nazeer’s character of a politician. He doesn’t have anything against Janaki; he doesn’t even know them personally. His actions are to ensure that he wins the elections in any way possible. So, it’s an issue that can be settled by the woman, who has found courage, just by giving him a stare. She doesn’t have to hit him, create a ruckus or file a legal case, the stare would sideline him.

Janaki’s character hasn’t reached a stage where she can take action against the politician. People like her will always hold back. And to be honest, Janaki’s stare has the power of 10 slaps and that is evident from how he loses his rhythm during his speech. That’s all she wanted. He doesn’t have the quality to be hit by her. It also shows the difference in their personalities.

Navya’s character is the protagonist in the film, but Saiju’s role of Unni Mukundan is equally important even though he plays a supporting role, literally, in the film. What went into creating that character, especially because he is a husband who is there with his wife through the thick and thin?

That’s something that is seen less in today’s times. When a wife faces a problem such as this, not many husbands now stand with her. We try to show that in the movie too, where others feel that once the husband sees the visuals of his wife hugging another man in the media, they hope that the couple will be quarrelling. But instead, Unni holds his wife closer. So, more than fear, the message we have tried to give through the movie is to care. Fear is a basic element that lingers throughout the movie, but the aspect of caring and understanding is placed above that.

It's because Unni and others stood with Janaki, she found courage. Till now, there was no one like that. She only had her fear and her home. Even though he’s not the title character, Unni’s importance in the movie is much more than Janaki. If it wasn’t for the character, the story wouldn’t have evolved.

You did Janaki Jaane after a gap. What next?

There won’t be that large a gap between my project and this. I am planning a film that is expected to go on floors in December. The gap was because of the pandemic and I was also part of Barroz.