The metro life, sounds and menacing aloofness, has become an inescapable hallmark of new-generation films. But Lijin Jose's 'Friday', with its small-town setting, lacks any urban flavour. The film has the poster boy of new-gen films playing the lead, but in an all-new avatar.
"'Friday' is not a formulaic film and in that sense it belongs to the new-gen bandwagon. But I don't think the metro backdrop is mandatory," says the director about his film, which is set in Alappuzha. "Kuttanad is a matchless landscape and its people have an entirely different range of issues compared to urbanites. Then we all including the producer, director, writer and lead actor have an Alappuzha connection. It's a terrain so familiar to us," he adds.
The film track the lives of some commoners on a particular Friday and staggers through a set of parallel stories connecting them all.
"The film is based on the magical date of 11/11/11 which incidentally fells on Friday. The day was pretty eventful as the North Indian bookies placed crores of rupees on Aishwarya Rai's delivery and the whole of Kerala was expecting the verdict of Soumya murder case. But the film chronicles the unusual turn of events in the lives of a bunch of commoners and how they all get intersected in a single day's time. The film has its storyline woven around realistic situations," he says.
'Friday' will see Fahad Fazil shedding his urban image for the first time to play the role of an auto driver. Lijin says, "during casting, the only criteria he followed was to look for actors who will fit into the plot. Roping in Fahad was no attempt to get the new-gen tag".
"He is a friend and we have been discussing many a project for a while now. It's only natural that he is on board. Then again, 'Friday' is not a solo-hero story, he is one among the other characters," clarifies Lijin.
Another highlight of the film is that it runs without an interval for the whole duration of 1.45 hours. "It's a short-duration film and that's why we have decided to do away with intermission," says Lijin.
Nedumudi Venu, Prakash Bare, Tini Tom, Manu, Ann Augustine, Asha Sharath, Narayanan Kutty, Nimisha Suresh and Seema G Nair also play prominent roles in the film. The film is produced by Sandra Thomas under the banner of Innovative Film Concepts, it will hit the screens on August 18.
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