Anupam Kher initially wasn’t interested in being part of Dileep’s Voice of Sathyanathan: Raffi

Malayalam actor Dileep’s latest movie Voice of Sathyanathan has already broken into profitable territory, with the movie grossing Rs 6.8 crore from its three-day box office run. The film had a lot riding on it for the actor, who needed a hit after back-to-back box office failures. And not surprisingly, it’s his go-to formula of a family entertainer with comedy that has worked for him.

Director Raffi, in an exclusive chat with OTTplay, talked about why he decided to cast actors across India for the movie that had Joju George, Anupam Kher, Makarand Deshpande and Jagapathi Babu in pivotal roles.

Also read: Voice of Sathyanathan review: A woeful comedy drama riddled with plot holes and ironies 

“The protagonist, Sathyanathan, is someone who resides in a village. But what he has to say are big things to big people, and the movie revolves around his efforts to accomplish that,” he says, adding that the film’s subject “demanded so many actors”.

Anupam Kher, who plays the President of India in the movie, also made his comeback to Malayalam with the film. However, the director tells us that the team had to go to great lengths to rope him in. “He plays a small but pivotal role in the movie. But we wanted him to be part of the film. He initially didn’t show much interest. So, we met him and narrated the entire story. That’s when he decided to come onboard,” says Raffi, who has also scripted the movie.

Like Dileep and Raffi’s previous collaborations such as Pandippada, Punjabi House and Two Countries, the film has “prioritised humour”. Ask him if it was a deliberate movie to make a film targeting the family audience, who were Dileep’s staple fanbase before he was accused in the actress assault case, Raffi says, “If people have to come to theatres, you need specific elements to attract them now. Otherwise, they can always wait for the movie’s OTT release. Moreover, there’s so many releases now. A decade ago, only 60-80 films released a year, but now it’s between 150 and 200. So, the audience will have to pick which content to watch in theatres from this pool. So, theatrical releases are becoming a big risk now.”

Also read: Dileep, Dhyan Sreenivasan’s fun thriller will also have a powerful female lead like Rorschach: Nissam Basheer 

How does this challenge affect the making of a film now? “You don’t think about the business side while conceiving and scripting a story. During that phase, your effort is completely to ensure how best you can tell this story. The monetary aspects come in only when the producers join the fray,” concludes Raffi, who will also script the sequel of Dileep’s Two Countries.