Starring Asif Ali and Sunny Wayne in lead roles, 'Kasargold' opened to mixed reviews from the public and critics on 15 September.
Mridul Nair. (Supplied)
Mridul Nair’s debut movie B.Tech in 2018 marked his first collaboration with his buddy Asif Ali. It was a successful venture.
In 2021, the young director created a web series titled Instagraamam. Later, he started working on his new movie Kasargold which deals with gold smuggling.
The movie, released on 15 September, opened to mixed reviews from the public and critics.
In an exclusive interview with South First, Mridul Nair talks about his creative differences with corporate producers and how he takes criticism.
Mridul Nair and Vinayakan on the sets of ‘Kasargold’. (Supplied)
Mridul Nair says he was pretty confident about the movie and was also sure that people would pinpoint the problems in the script.
“The script wasn’t bad and had all the flavours needed for a good film. But convincing the Mumbai-based corporate producers became a tough job for us. They weren’t aware of the taste of the Malayali audience. Hence, we had to incorporate their suggestions,” he recalled.
The filmmaker said the producers were not well-versed in the movie-watching culture in Malayalam and compared the project (made with subtitles) with Bollywood flicks. As a result, the connection or bridging points in the movie were lost in the final cut.
“We shot the tail end of the movie in the end as Rajakrishnan Sir (Audio Engineer) said it would be good. But it didn’t reach all theatres in Kerala. In overseas and outside Kerala, the tail-end wasn’t even uploaded,” Mridul said.
“People had high hopes when Asif Ali and I came together for Kasargold, after five long years. But we weren’t sure if we would do justice. We both worked on this film for about a year. As a director, this is my second movie. I am sad that I couldn’t deliver a flick that would satisfy the majority audience,” he added.
About the special bond he shares with Asif Ali, the director quipped, “I’ve known him for 10 years. We met in the sets of Kili Poyi (2013) and we consider ourselves a family.
Mridul Nair’s ‘Kasargold’ opened to mixed reviews. (Supplied)
Kasargold is based on the friendship between the two main characters — Alby aka Albert (Asif Ali) and Faisal (Sunny Wayne). Mridul Nair said he intentionally kept their friendship realistic.
“Alby doesn’t have a commitment towards Moosa, his master. But he attacks the person who killed his friend. It sends a message that all human beings aren’t greedy and there are some who give value to friendship.”
When asked about the political nexus with gold smugglers in the story, the director replied that it was all fictional. “The people who fight in the name of politics in daylight may be involved in the business secretly. But the politics highlighted in the movie is relevant though.”
About the violence depicted in Kasargold, Mridul said it was inevitable for a story based on true incidents of crime.
“Most of Vetrimaaran’s (Tamil) films showcase violence and are yet watched by the family audience too. In our movie, we didn’t delve deep into family emotions as it’s the story of two youngsters who travel to Goa for gold smuggling.”
‘Kasargold’ is Mridul Nair’s second feature film. (Supplied)
On criticism, the young filmmaker feels that everybody has the right to have their opinion about films.
“Everyone will have an expectation from a movie. Not every time can we meet those expectations. And I believe that there’s no formula for a hit film. I have read all the reviews of Kasargold. I always take (constructive) criticism positively because it helps me rectify my mistakes, if any,” Mridul Nair said.
As regards the spurt in negative campaigns against Malayalam movies in recent times, he said there was no need to tell others to not watch their films if they didn’t like the work.
Referring to the way Asif Ali and Dulquer Salmaan were targeted personally by a YouTuber recently, he asserted that targeted attacks against movies, filmmakers, or actors should not be entertained. “Let’s not get personal and let’s not deprive audiences from making their own choices,” Mridul signed off.
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