Stephy Zaviour's directorial debut deals with women and relationships while simultaneously simultaneously taking a dig at casteism in Kerala.
Actor Rajisha Vijayan (left) and director Stephy Zaviour at the press meet of 'Madhura Manohara Moham'. (Supplied)
Madhura Manohara Moham is doing well at the box office as the movie is drawing crowds, especially family audiences, to the theatres. It discusses the relationships and marriage of Meera.
Rajisha Vijayan appears as Meera in the film and Sharafudeen as her elder brother Manu.
Madhura Manohara Moham also marks the debut directorial of Stephy Zaviour, a well-known costume designer in Malayalam cinema.
Addressing a press meet organised in Kochi on Monday, 19 June, to mark its success, actor Rajisha Vijayan admitted that she was initially doubtful if her role (Meera) would be accepted by the audience.
The cast and crew of ‘Madhura Manohara Moham’. (Supplied)
“It was easy for me to play Meera till the interval portions. But when Meera transforms post-interval, we feared whether viewers would accept her. So, as a crew, we discussed at length how to showcase the changes in the character,” Rajisha told the media.
The actress revealed that she likes such roles. “I readily agreed to do Madhura Manohara Moham after the story narration. This character was like a lottery for me. I always want to do roles with different shades.”
When asked if she made a bad choice as her previous films didn’t work well at the box office, Rajisha remarked: “There is no actor, producer or director who has only successful films to their credit.”
Madhura Manohara Moham boldly raises questions about casteism in Kerala.
When asked if it was a political decision, director Stephy Zaviour said, “We have tried to showcase casteism in the movie in a satirical way and not in a political angle. In Kerala, casteism is still prevalent and it becomes a topic of discussion only when your near and dear face it. Otherwise, everyone speaks of equality and all.”
The director also noted that some of the sequences in the film were inspired by her own experiences and referred to the scene where the forward caste people maintain separate glasses (for tea or water) for the backward castes.
“I hail from Mananthavady in Wayanad district where people of all castes lived without any issues. But now, I can see caste-related issues everywhere in Kerala and our film presented the same sarcastically,” Stephy Zaviour pointed out.
The filmmaker also stated that she decided to do a movie on these issues while she was working for Prithviraj’s Ezra (2017).
Madhura Manohara Moham has an ensemble cast, including Saiju Kurup, Arsha Baiju, Bindhu Panicker, Vijayaraghavan and Sunil Sugadha.
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