Kala is shown from three perspectives: Rohith VS

Most filmmakers would be prompted to take up a project that would cater to the so-called commercial cinema especially if their first two films couldn’t make much of an impact at the box office. But not Mollywood director Rohith VS. The Adventures of Omanakuttan and Iblis filmmaker came out all guns blazing with his tour-de-force Kala, which has been lauded by the audience and critics alike after its OTT release last week.

The concept-driven film, which melds elements of both home invasion and ‘man vs wild’ thrillers, is also packed with layers about human evolution and division on the basis of caste.

Ask Rohith about the origin of the idea for the Tovino Thomas and Suresh Moor-starrer and he says, “Four years ago, I read Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens and the observations in the book helped me a lot. The thought of human evolution and where we as a race are heading have all influenced the making of Kala.”

For the movie’s narrative to work, it needed an actor who would be convincing as an alpha male at the start; because Tovino Thomas’s character Shaji starts off as the hero but ends up as an intimidated man who even loses the respect of his wife.

How did Rohith get the star to come onboard? “Tovino is also someone who thinks the same way as me about human evolution and equality of living beings. So, he immediately got what the movie was about and I didn’t even have to convince him,” says the filmmaker. “I had initially only presented the narrative; somebody who is shown as a hero in the beginning becomes the villain at the end and vice versa. The only condition was that it had to be convincing and that we shouldn’t alter the audience’s perception while telling the characters’ stories.”

Another layer that the movie delves deeply is Shaji’s relationships and how it varies. “When we were planning the characters, we tried to fix the equations between them and that’s why you see, how Shaji talks with his father, wife, son and workers are all different,” says Rohith.

The film also uses a lot of visual elements to tell the story and this was intentional, says the director. “The movie has three perspectives. Apart from those of Tovino and Moor’s characters, there are scenes from the divine nature’s perspective. The basic narration is also crafted on the basis of who nature eventually sides with. First, it’s with Tovino and then it changes to Moor’s side. So, it’s not just Moor’s character who is seeking revenge, nature too is doing that,” he explains.

When it was released in theatres a few months ago, the film had mixed reviews with many saying that “it didn’t have a story”. “The film has a narrative. If there’s an idea and angle, those form the story. It becomes complete when you perceive it from the mould of existence; when a character looks back and sees himself as a villain,” says Rohith. “So, we first formulated that narrative and then added the story to it. I think many didn’t understand it because they couldn’t crack that idea,” he concludes.