HAPPILY EVER AFTER
RITZ|December 2019
Mollywood has been buzzing with new directors and technicians who have been rolling out innovative storylines and quirky film treatments. Amidst the realism wave, here comes a rom com which has all the elements of a Bollywood superhit – comedy, romance, family drama and dance numbers. Director couple, Geetika and Sudip are not new to film making as they have had ample experience working with some of the best directors in the industry. The feature film that they scripted together titled Black Forest won them a National Award for environmental preservation and it has always been their dream to direct a Mollywood film. Ritz catches up with the director couple who are excited about the release of their debut Mollywood project, Happy Sardar, starring Kalidas Jayaram in the lead!
RIYA SONNY DATSON
HAPPILY EVER AFTER

What prompted you to step into direction as a couple?

Sudip and I were working together for a TV channel when we became friends. We had decided that we would work together and make films. Marriage happened much later. So working together was always a part of the plan.

Considering the current genre of films that’s reigning Mollywood, Happy Sardar is more inclined to a Bollywood feel. What inspired you to make such a rom com?

Happy Sardar was inspired by Kalidas Jayaram. We happened to meet him at a coffee shop before the release of his film ‘Poomaram’ and we put forth the idea of doing a film with him. He was happy to oblige but unfortunately the scripts we had at that point of time were all suited for older actors. So we decided to create a script that would be centered around a young hero with romance, comedy and drama. That’s how Happy Sardar was born. Yes, it is true that Mollywood is going through a strong realism wave right now but we felt it would be good to have a break in between a dominant trend. The film is more suited for the family audience and children.

How did you prepare yourself to get into the shoes of a director?

For the last ten to twelve years, we have been working in our own ways. I had undergone a film making course while I was working as the Sub Editor for Mid Day in Mumbai. Coming to the recent past, Sudip has assisted Amal Neerad and I have worked as assistant director while working in films directed by my father, KC Chandrahasan and father in law, Joshy Mathew. Sudip and I have been working together on documentaries and short films and we scripted Black Forest, a feature film directed by my father in law Joshy Mathew, which won the National Award for environmental preservation. So finally we were relieved that the film finally happened.

This story is from the December 2019 edition of RITZ.

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This story is from the December 2019 edition of RITZ.

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