Chaaver director Tinu Pappachan on why he doesn't believe in the concept of 'pan-Indian or pan-Asian movies'

Since his directorial debut, Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil, director Tinu Pappachan has managed to build a fanbase that mostly fulfils the Malayalam audience’s taste for action films. His latest Chaaver, which is set to drop on Sony LIV on November 24, had him taking on a politically relevant subject but in his signature style.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Tinu talks about his response to doing films without the backing of a strong storyline, why he doesn’t believe in ‘pan-Indian or pan-Asian’ movies, what takes up the most of his time during the making of a film and casting Kunchacko Boban in Chaaver.

It takes someone with great skill to create atmospheric films that are backed by some solid storytelling. Your previous films, Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil and Ajagajantharam, had more of the latter, but with Chaaver, you have tried to balance both.

What actually prompted me to do Chaaver was its screenplay. As soon as I read it, I knew I wanted to do it. For most screenplays, that isn’t the case. We only made a few corrections to the initial screenplay that Joy ettan sent, because any director would want to include his own signature in the work he is doing. When Joy ettan was convinced, he would change it and if he wasn’t, he had deep knowledge on the subject to let me know why he wanted to retain what he had written. I believe his movie Shutter is one of the best works in Malayalam. So, his narratives have always had different layers.

One grouse from a section of the audience is that your movies don’t have a solid storyline. But yet, your films have worked and have gained a cult following. But how challenging is it for a filmmaker to create an entire movie just based on the mood and intensity of its characters?

It’s not easy at all for me because I am not someone who is that experienced. People might say that there is no story in Ajagajantharam and they can because they have the freedom. But the narrative that I saw in it was that in most thrillers, people get trapped in closed spaces; so, the storyline of what happens when two youngsters and an elephant get cornered during a massive temple festival – I found that extremely appealing. The reasons might be trivial, but I wanted people to experience the mood of that temple festival and how these people survived the threat.

Also read: Chaaver star Kunchacko Boban: After my son was born, there was a sea change in the kind of films and roles I wanted to do 

In terms of Chaaver, it has more politics as part of its narrative. By politics, it’s not entirely party-driven. It’s a story that has been happening around the world for time immemorial; only its form has changed. It’s an issue that has been relevant but needs to be addressed. That’s why the people behind it have no faces or identities.

One of the highlights of Chaaver are its settings and locations. How much time did you spend zeroing in on these places for the scenes and why?

I tell all my producers that I want more time during the pre-production and post-production of my films. In the pre-production stage, I find it the most challenging to find the right locations because cinema is a visual language, and I can only shoot a particular scene where I am convinced that such a narrative would unfold.

In films in other languages, they erect a set. But that’s not easy for Malayalam movies due to our limited budget. In Chaaver, there's a petrol pump sequence and it took us a lot of time to find such a location. For that climax sequence, I had even contemplated pushing the shoot of the film because we couldn’t find the right location. The climax of Chaaver, like Ajagajantharam’s, has choreography and for that, we need an apt location.

Also read: Chaaver Review: Style Trumps Substance In Kunchacko Boban-Starrer 

The shooting of Chaaver happened extensively in Kannur, Mahe, Gudalar and Gundalpet. Chaaver has a travel mood to it and so we shot across locations in Kannur district because the terrain had to keep changing as the narrative progressed. It wasn’t easy at all.

With Swathanthryam Ardharathriyil and Ajagajantharam becoming huge hits, you always had the option of choosing a bigger film than Chaaver to be part of. But why pick a subject that is rooted in Kerala rather than maybe attempt a pan-Indian film, especially because you have had discussions with actors like Vijay Deverakonda about possible collaborations?

I am not someone who has much idea about this concept of ‘pan-Indian’ films. My belief is that we should do films that excite us; it shouldn’t matter whether it’s pan-Indian or pan-Asian. Chaaver is a film that would be relevant anywhere in the world. Because it’s set in Kerala, we chose Kannur as the main location.

Watch Chaaver on OTTplay by subscribing to the Jhakaas pack which provides access to 16 OTTs at just Rs 199/month. 

As far as I was concerned, I wanted to shoot in Kannur for a long time because each place has a different terrain in the district, lending itself to a varied visual landscape. Kannur also has a lot of uninhabited places.

The film also has Kunchacko Boban in a varied role. Was he your first choice for the character of Ashokan?

He was my pick. Chackochan had expressed an interest in working with me, and I immediately approached him and said that this role is different from what he has done. As soon as he heard the narration, he said yes.

Also, Antony Varghese and Arjun Ashokan don’t play roles similar to Ajagajantharam at all in this film; they don’t have any fight sequences. Antony has a limited screen presence in the movie, but his character’s presence is felt throughout Chaaver.