Triumphing Over The Odds

Vijay Babu is a tower of confidence, having established himself as a producer with his company Friday Film House, and is on the way to making it big as an actor.

- Charishma Thankappan

"When you go through a lot of pain and then achieve a huge success, it is extremely rewarding.” And none other than producer and actor Vijay Babu can vouch for this truth of life.

After facing a setback with the initial release of his film Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeevi Aanu, 2015 (Aadu), Vijay is now basking in the success of Aadu 2, a product of his production company Friday Film House. Riding high on the wave of accomplishment, the past year was one of the best for Vijay, who was part of one of the biggest hits of 2017 – Angamaly Diaries.

The journey so far

A seasoned professional coming from media background, Vijay has been in the entertainment industry for 18 years and is hence, well-versed with the pulse of the audience. It is no surprise then, that of the nine films that have come out of the stables of Friday Film House, there have been six hits, including Angamaly Diaries, Adi Kappyare Koottamani, Philips and the Monkey Pen, and now Aadu 2 which are super hits.

Recounting his past experience, Vijay says that taking the risk with Angamaly Diaries, which introduced 86 newcomers, paid off. That’s what gave him and director Lijo Jose Pellissery the confidence to experiment again with Aadu 2. “In the history of cinema, it might be the first time where someone has made a sequel of a movie that was a flop.

"During Aadu, we were unable to sell the television and satellite rights as nobody trusted us. We got only two shows in some of the main cities. While other films were running four or five shows in a day, we were squeezed in as a morning or afternoon show just because they didn’t believe in us. So it gives immense pleasure when the same theatre owner calls us and requests us to fill the theatre with five shows of Aadu 2.”