Exclusive interview: Joju George playing double role in ‘Iratta’ makes it big, says director Rohit MG Krishnan

The film poster of Iratta. (Supplied)

Q. How did you come up with the story of Iratta?

A: While I had several stories planned for a movie, budget constraints were an issue. So, I kept looking for an apt subject and other aspects of a movie that could work well in terms of our budget. It led me to an incident that happened in Kerala that had almost gone unnoticed. I found it curious and thus Iratta eventually became a reality. However, inspired by it, I created a completely different story based on fictitious characters.

Q. How did Joju George come on board Iratta?

A: I narrated the story to many people in the film industry. In 2019, director Sajid Yahya said that he will produce the movie. He took us to Joju George. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic changed our plans, and Sajid Yahya went on to do his new film after the lockdown restrictions were relaxed. By that time, Joju George said that he will produce the movie along with Martin Prakkat.

Q. How challenging is Joju George’s role in the movie, even though he has previously done other police characters?

A: Even though Joju George has done different police roles, none are repetitive. For instance, his roles in Joseph, Nayattu, and Action Hero Biju are entirely different from one another. Joju George had done all these characters as three different individuals.

In such a case, what we can do is trust the actor. We trusted the actor and he (Joju) portrayed the character extremely well in a different manner from the policeman. There is no scope for similarities to his earlier police characters.

Q. Tell us about Anjali’s role in the film?

A: Tamil actress Anjali plays an important character in the movie. During the discussions on the casting of the movie, we had several artists in mind but finally decided to cast Anjali. We wanted someone relatively new to play the role that brings a novelty aspect from the audience’s perspective.

Sharing with you guys a personal musical favourite in the journey of irrata ❤️https://t.co/yjiHErj3ui @C_I_N_E_M_A_A #MartinPrakkat #jojugeorge #Martinprakatfilms #sijovadakkan #rohitmgkrishnan#Appupathupappuproductionhouse @propratheesh #IrattaFromFeb3rd pic.twitter.com/f3eC9tfBmt

— Anjali (@yoursanjali) January 31, 2023

Q. Was there any change in the canvas after Joju George decided to produce the movie?

A: I decided to do the movie on a small scale but after Joju heard the story, he said that we will do the movie on a big canvas. Thereafter, we had to rework the script to fit the bigger bill.

Q. The songs of the movie are now trending. Was it a marketing technique to make Joju George sing in the promo song?

A: We have a song in the movie and we used this particular… folk song as a promo song to reach out to the audience. This promo song was recreated with Joju George. In the movie, the song is sung by Benedict Shine.

Q. Was there any particular idea conveyed to music director Jakes Bejoy during the song composition?

A: We had told Jakes Bejoy about different music suitable for the movie. We took the catchy compositions given by Jakes Bejoy. The songs in Iratta are different from his earlier works. Jakes is one of the busy music directors in the Malayalam industry now and the production team was able to rope him in for the project.

Q. How do you feel while seeing the hoardings put up near your hometown, wishing for Iratta’s success?

A: Honestly, I haven’t seen it directly as I am in Ernakulam now. I came to know about this from the photos that are making rounds. Many of my friends have supported me during my period of struggle and their love makes me feel happy. Moreover, I will feel happier when my film gets accepted and appreciated by the audience and becomes a success.

Q. In a nutshell, what is Iratta, the film?

A: I can’t reveal much before its release. It is about twins played by Joju Geroge. The story deals with the emotional breakdown and relationship between these two characters.