Srikanth Mohan, who makes his OTT debut as director with the Sony LIV series Jai Mahendran is aware of how difficult it is to get a film project up and running. “I know how hard it is to make a film, to make your first film. There are so many people who want to direct a film, but somehow it takes years to get that break,” he says. He was answering a question about making his debut via an OTT series rather than a feature film. It is evident that he has enjoyed the process and is excited about its release.
Jai Mahendran pivots the goings on at a taluk office and the staff there. The action is driven by (Saiju Kurup) Mahendran G, a revenue officer, who bends rules to get things done and what unfolds as a result. Government office-based films and content may not be new but the series is a fresh, entertaining take on the workings and machinations of government employees there and the people who come there with various revenue department-related problems.
He adds a disclaimer, “Our intention is not to troll government servants…we understand how difficult it sometimes gets for them to do their jobs as they tend to be tied down by the system as well. We have attempted to tell the story from both sides.”
Srikanth Mohan | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The story is by Rahul Riji Nair, Srikanth’s mentor and producer of the series; Srikanth was also on the writing team. “The storyline originated with an experience of Rahulettan’s, we built the story from there. The Jai Mahendran idea germinated there. Subsequently, we [the team] visited several offices, spoke to people and did a lot of research as part of pre-production.” The show was Srikanth has been on Rahul Riji’s team, he has been Rahul’s chief associate director since the start of his career.
Srikanth was also part of the team that made the Hotstar series Kerala Crime Files, directed by Ahammed Khabeer and produced by First Print Studios, helmed by Rahul Riji. He has also acted in films such as Keedam, Dakini, Madhura Manohara Moham, Mukundan Unni Associates and Samar.
When the project was given the go ahead by Sony LIV, Rahul, who is the showrunner, suggested Srikanth as director for the series and that is how the Kottayam-native came to helm the series. He studied filmmaking at SAE Institute, Chennai.
The series, with its motley crew of characters, with its topic and handling, is refreshingly different from the template for OTT content — read murders and thrillers. Srikanth calls Sony LIV’s insistence on diverse content that challenges the template as ‘wise’ as it affords the opportunity to tell ‘rooted’ stories such as Jai Mahendran.
With Suhasini on the set | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The series is reminiscent of the films of the 1980s and 90s, in terms of the story and those who people it, “Do you mean it in a good way?” Srikanth asks before adding, “I have grown up watching movies by Sathyan Anthikkad, Priyadarshan, Balachandran Menon and others [of the period] so some of those influences might show!”
The cast includes Suhasini, Saiju Kurup, Miya George, Siddharth Siva, and Rahul Riji among others. Rahul’s take as Balagopal (Balu) is an unexpected pick. “We had another, established actor in mind but given the logistics of coordinating the dates etc I felt Rahulettan would be a good fit. I suggested it to him, he agreed despite some hesitation and that is how he became Balu.” As the shrewd Balu, Mahendran’s friend, Rahul is a bit of inspired casting.
Srikanth says Rahul, despite being a director himself, gave him all the space to do his job like everybody else on the cast including Suhasini. He is excited about the release, curious about what the response would be since the series would reach a larger, more diverse audience.
Jai Mahendran drops on Sony LIV on October 11
Published - October 04, 2024 01:04 pm IST
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