Award-winning director Shyamaprasad will adapt Anees Salim’s 2017 book Small Town Sea for his next film. Small Town Sea is about a boy whose family shifts to a seaside town where his dying father had grown up. Though the book became noteworthy for its portrayal of sadness, the tinge of humour that laces the story also received praise. Anees Salim is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award. He has published five books in a span of seven years, and this book is his latest work.
Talking about the book, Shyamaprasad told Silverscreen, “I was hoping to make it into a movie ever since I had read it.” The director’s filmography is replete with an eclectic mix of adaptations like Lalithambika Antharjanam’s Agnisakshi, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie (Akale) and Paritosh Uttam’s Dreams in Prussian Blue (Artist). When asked what drew him to Small Town Sea, the director says “I think this book is exceptional. It is so moving and painful.”
“Stories told from the perspective of a child always fascinate me,” says the director. “I was also reminded of a short film I had done in the past. It was based on MP Mohammad’s story Ullurukkam. It was also told from the world view of a child, though it was set in the Malabar region and had a totally different milieu,” he added.
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According to the director, the movie is in the early stages. “It’s not going to be a star vehicle. Nothing else has been finalized.” Shyamarasad will be scripting the movie himself. “The plan is to start filming by the middle of the year and wrap up by the year-end.” The movie will be made with a larger audience in mind, rather than strictly a Malayali audience.
Shyamaprasad last directed the 2018 Malayalam movie Hey Jude. The movie, starring Nivin Pauly in the lead, also marked the Malayalam debut of Trisha Krishnan. For his performance in the movie, Vijay Menon had won a special mention at the Kerala State Film Awards.
Image Courtesy: TNIE