‘Lalitham Sundaram’ is a feel-good movie about the family, says Madhu Wariar

When his directorial debut,  Lalitham Sundaram, releases on March 18, it will be a dream-come-true moment for actor Madhu Wariar. “I always wanted to do this. Acting was more like a stepping stone to becoming a director,” says Madhu, elder brother of actor Manju Warrier. The film with Manju and Biju Menon in the lead will stream on Disney+ Hotstar.

The film is “a feel-good family drama”, says Madhu. While the trailer hints that Biju and Manju might be a couple who are at loggerheads, Madhu refuses to reveal more about their equation. “The film stresses the importance of family in our lives. We often take that institution for granted and expect the family members to be around whenever we need them. The dynamics within this set-up are i explored in the film,” he says. It is written by Pramod Mohan, director and scenarist of Orayiram Kinakkalaal.

Biju Menon, Raghunath Paleri and Manju Warrier on the location of ‘Lalitham Sundaram’
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Lalitham Sundaram brings together Biju and Manju after a gap of over two decades. “Biju  chettan has been like an elder brother to me and they both have done some amazing movies in the past. They were my first choices for the characters, Sunny and Annie. There is a conflict between them and while discussing the story and script, I could visualise how they would do it because I knew their mannerisms. So I looked forward to shooting those scenes,” he says.

Madhu had pitched the story to Biju first. “The story came to me in 2016-17; Manju had no idea about it then. After Biju  chettan agreed to do it, I gave her the rough draft of the script. She was excited about it. Our father fell ill around that time and that was a phase when I realised that I should have spent more time with him. I wanted to bring that aspect as well into the script and suggested it to Pramod. It was after reading the final version that Manju asked if she can produce it,” Madhu adds. Manju has co-produced it with Century Kochumon.

Actor-director Madhu Wariar
| Photo Credit: Rajeevan Francis

String of delays

Although the film went on floors in 2020, the pandemic and the lockdowns delayed the project. “There were other challenges as well. Our office in Kochi got flooded during the rain and all costumes were destroyed. After that our cinematographer, P Sukumar came down with COVID-19 on the eve of restarting the shoot. So we had to bring in another cinematographer Gautham Sankar for the schedule. Basically, for me, it was like shooting two movies!” says Madhu.

The film was planned for the theatres. “It is my first film and I honestly wanted to take it to the cinemas. But by the time we finished the post-production work, there was uncertainty over theatres reopening and the seating capacity. It seemed unfair to make our producers wait for long and that’s why we went with the OTT release. However, with the kind of impact OTT platforms have today, I feel the film will get a good reach,” says Madhu.

Talking about his tryst with direction, Madhu says that he fell back on his stint in the industry to pick up the craft. “Mohan sir who directed me in  The Campus (2005) used to make me sit in the edit suite. I worked with Deepu Karunakaran as one of his assistants in  Crazy Gopalan (2008). Later when I produced films [ Swa Le and  Mayamohini], I was fully involved in its making as well. So I had a basic idea about the process. I also did some homework before I jumped into it,” he says.

A scene from ‘Lalitham Sundaram’
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

He took a break from acting in 2012 to concentrate on direction. Although he had finalised a project as his debut film that did not work out.

Madhu admits that he was nervous during the initial days of the shoot of  Lalitham Sundaram. “I shot the easy scenes first. Gradually things fell in place. I had a great team; the advantage was that I was working with a bunch of experienced artists who didn’t need any guidance from me. Some beautiful locations and good weather were a bonus,” he adds. While Vandiperiyar was the main location, scenes were also shot in picturesque spots in Vagamon and Kuttikkanam.

On his sibling

This being his first project with Manju, Madhu stresses that their equation was strictly professional on the set. “I was not her  chettan (elder brother) on the location. In fact, I was particular about certain expressions in some scenes. That that was the only thing I insisted and she came prepared for those scenes. Rest was all done by her,” he says. Madhu adds that she has matured over the years as a person and actor. “That reflects in her thoughts, what she says and how she carries herself. She weighs the situation before giving her opinion or taking a decision.”

Veteran actor Zarina Wahab and scenarist Raghunath Paleri are in the cast. “Although there are so many fabulous actors who play a father’s role, we needed a fresh face. It was my chief associate director who suggested Raghu  chettan. Biju chettan supported the idea. Although Raghu  chettan was not confident, we forced him to come on board,” Madhu says. Anu Mohan plays Manju’s younger brother and Deepti Sati, his girlfriend. Dileesh Pothan, Saiju Kurup and Sudheesh are also in the cast.

Bijibal has scored the music and lyrics is by BK Harinarayanan.