Christo Tomy: Even after I said Urvashi and Parvathy lead Ullozhukku, I’d still be asked ‘but who is the male star?’

Director Christo Tomy with Urvashi (left) and Parvathy on the sets of 'Ullozhukku'.

There’s a scene in Christo Tomy’s Malayalam debut feature Ullozhukku (Undercurrent), when a pregnant Anju (Parvathy Thiruvothu) rows a boat from her flooded house to the hospital, carrying her mother-in-law Leelamma (Urvashi), in whose lap is lying Anju’s dying husband Thomaskutty (Prashanth Murali). If water signals depth and submerged life/reality, it also references the flood metaphor from the Book of Genesis from the Bible and ‘two of a kind’ being rescued on Noah’s Ark. This scene, with its obvious themes of motherhood, also brings to mind thematically Sethe delivering her child in a sinking boat from Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved (1987), as the two mother figures (Leelamma and Anju) try to save their respective child — one’s life is dimming while the other is yet unborn — in their own ways. Ullozhukku is essentially a story about a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law who are stranded in a flooded house, and in that, surfaces secrets and truths that both have submerged.

Netflix audiences might recall the popular true crime documentary series Curry and Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case from last year. It was directed by Tomy, although it wasn’t his story. His story, Ullozhukku, which won the 2018 first prize at Cinestaan India’s Storytellers Contest for scriptwriting (Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies won the second prize), released in theatres late June and ran successfully for a month. Tomy has the feat of winning two National Film Awards for his short films at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata, Kanyaka (Virgin, 2013) and Kamuki (Sweetheart, 2015), which also toy with the themes of desire, suffering, womanhood, motherhood, and are available on YouTube.

In this interview, Tomy talks about shooting a film in a makeshift flood, bringing Urvashi and Parvathy together on the big screen for the first time, and why it is difficult to mount female-led films. The film, which reminds of the films of the ’80s and ’90s, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Excerpts:

You’ve said that the film is inspired from your real life and shot in the ancestral house in which you grew. Can you talk about the logistical issues you faced while shooting, how did you navigate with the cameras in the water and how did the crew take loo breaks?

(Smiles) This is the house I grew up in, in a way. This is my mother’s house. I used to go for every vacation there. This was one of my favourite, favourite places. During every monsoon, the place would flood (Kuttanad is the lowest point in India, where the land is below the sea level). And we, as children, would love playing in the floods much to our parents and elders’ chagrin. The floods caused a lot of problems for them. In 2005, when my grandfather died, we had to wait in the flooded house with his body. That’s how the idea of the film came to me. When I went back to shoot this film, we looked for a lot of houses, which would be easier to flood, with big rooms to shoot in. But when I was writing the script, this house was on my mind, and we finalised it.

With COVID, the shoot got cancelled 10 days prior to the shoot. And I had shifted my grandmother, my uncle, his family, including his wife and children, to another house for shooting this film. They were stuck in a rented house. And we had no idea when we would be able to resume the shoot.

It was after one year that we were finally able to mount the project. We had to flood the house, kind of abuse the house. On most days, we had to create heavy rains, so the roof would start leaking, and a lot of other things that would be damaging to the house. It was not a pleasant sight. We built a big embankment around the house and flooded two acres of land across this house. Even to move from point A to point B took double the time than it would on land. We were all standing in the water, and a lot of people fell sick because they had to be in the water all day. It was not easy for the actors to be in the water and perform emotionally intense scenes. We had a lot of scenes in the river, during the monsoons, and the river had strong currents, so it was not easy to control the boats. In a lot of ways, it was a very physically challenging shoot.

Parvathy in a still from the film.

Talk about juxtaposing the water imagery with that of motherhood to the situation of these two women.

Yeah, so, even when the idea came up, it was about a family who are waiting in a flooded house for a funeral. Flood and waters are a part of this world and was part of the script. So, then, the point was how to use them in a way that would add drama and a greater emotional impact to the story. For me, the water is also a symbol for the inability of these characters to let things go. So, they are holding on to their grudges, to the little animosities they have with each other. The water/flood becomes a metaphor for their mental state.

And the entire story happens because the place is flooded. If the place was not flooded, they would have done the funeral in a day and would have gone their different ways. In a lot of ways, flood has multiple relevance in the film. First, of course, it’s part of the premise. And it’s also important because it’s a metaphor that reflect the state the characters are in. And third, it’s also a character in itself which adds drama to the story.

Ullozhukku director Christo Tomy.

You must be tired answering this question about why do you only make films about female subjects, from your short films to your docu series and feature film. You went to a convent school in Kerala. Did that have an impact on you and how you bring sensitivity and female subjectivity in your films?

I have faced this question many times because right from my diploma film Kamuki, which won the National Award for the second time, I was asked why you make films about a woman. I do not have a very clear-cut answer for this. I would like to say it’s accidental in some ways. For example, Curry and Cyanide is a project that came to me, I chose to do it because the story was fascinating but I did not choose that story. But, for example, with Ullozhukku and with Kamuki, the reason why it had female protagonist is also because I asked myself this question, that in this particular situation, for whom would the journey be more difficult? For whom would the stakes be higher? And the answer was the reason why these stories have female protagonists. I think Urvashi chechi (elder sister), who is one of the lead actors of this film, has answered this question, saying that it might be because, while growing up, I was a sensitive child who observed the family members very closely. So that could be the reason why I write female characters. The project that I’m offered next also has a female lead.

As a male director with a female gaze, are you worried you might get typecast as a director who only makes female films?

No, I’m not afraid of that because I also have projects that have male leads that I’m developing.

Filmmaker Anjali Menon recently asked where the Malayalee women are in films, following the blockbuster hits like Brahmayugam, Manjummel Boys, Aavesham, all being male-oriented. Although there are one-off films like yours, Anand Ekarshi’s powerful Aattam and Jeo Baby’s Great Indian Kitchen, that speak of the female conundrum. Actors Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha went to the Cannes Film Festival with Payal Kapadia’s film All We Imagine as Light, which won India its first Grand Prix. Why are there few female-led films in the mainstream? Do you see yourself changing that narrative?

See, I think this is because of a multitude of reasons. First, talking from my personal experience, it was difficult to mount this project because it was female-led. And the project required a certain kind of budget because it requires flood and a lot of other logistics. And because it was female-led, it was difficult to mount it. It took some time for us to get the finances for it. So, it’s true to say that it’s difficult to mount female-led projects, and I could be wrong here, because the female-led projects might not be turning in the numbers on your opening days. That could be the reason why such projects are fewer in number.

On the other hand, when I’d be asked, who plays the lead in the film, I would say Parvathy and Urvashi and they’re great actors and Parvathy has done a lot of big films and same with [Urvashi] chechi, she has been a legend but I’d still be asked but who is the male star? So, I think, for a layman, the lead of the film is a male star. This gets reflected through the system, right from the grassroot level right up to the producers who are mounting these projects. And that’s why we have fewer number of female-led projects.

Another reason, I think, is that there are a higher number of male writers and directors in the industry. When I was part of Cinestaan, where my script won, there were five other winners and most of the script had female leads. One was Laapataa Ladies, which is such a hit. Also, it’s not mandatory that only female writer can write female characters.

A still from the film.

For a first-time filmmaker entering the industry, how did you get Urvashi and Parvathy, both powerhouses, to say yes to your project. Your short film Kanyaka also features Urvashi in a young nun’s scrapbook. In hindsight, it feels like a foreshadowing that you’d have worked with Urvashi someday.

Yeah. And now if you see the film, I think it’s not possible to imagine the film without her. I don’t think there is anybody else who could have done this character with so much depth, honesty and intensity. Also, I really wanted her to play this character. For any director, especially for a first-time director, it’s a dream cast to have both Parvathy and Urvashi in their film. And, also, I could bring them together for the very first time even though they’ve been part of the industry for so long. I’m very happy about that. I feel that every film has got its destiny. Once Parvathy came on board, she was also excited to know that we are talking to Urvashi. When I was doing Kanyaka (2013), I’d never imagined that I would be working with chechi one day. Urvashi is a legend. She’s one of the greatest actors in the country and she has been a part of every Malayalee household, we’ve all grown up watching her films, laughing and crying along. She is one of the most popular actors the state has ever seen.

You have three producers on this film, Ronnie Screwvala of RSVP Movies, Honey Trehan and Abhishek Chaubey of Macguffin Pictures and Reverie Entertainment. How does this co-production work? Are more Bombay producers getting interested in producing Malayalam cinema?

You have multiple producers for a lot of films. This is not something new. And, if I’m not wrong, the films that Honey and Abhishek have made in the past, have also been produced by RSVP in association with their Macguffin Pictures. I signed with Honey in the beginning. Honey wanted to read the script after it had won in Cinestaan and, later, he came on board as the producer. Honey brought Ronnie into the picture and without Ronnie’s support, this film would not have been possible, because it is not an easy film to make for various reasons, including that it’s a female-led film. If I earlier said I had a dream cast, I’d say this is a dream combination of producers to have on your first film as well.

Overall, I think, yes, seeing how well Malayalam cinema is doing, there are a lot of (outside) people who want to make films here in Malayalam. But RSVP did not do it because they wanted to do a Malayalam film. They did it because of Honey and they liked the script.

Your film is visually evocative. What brief did you give to your cinematographer? The ‘hand holding’ scene/shot between Parvathy and Urvashi reminded me of Robert Bresson’s films. Was he an inspiration?

I’ve worked with Shehnad (Jalal, cinematographer) before. He also shot Curry & Cyanide, alongside Hari (K Vedantam). With Ullozhukku, he was associated right from the beginning.  Even before the shoot, we used to discuss about the visual grammar of the film, pan shots and design, do location recce. A lot of the shots were static on a tripod with very less movements, because that is what the film needed. Every film dictates the tone and style of that story. With Kamuki, it was a lot of handheld shots. With Kanyaka, it was static and a little bit of hand-held movement. Here, too, we had a few handheld shots, but it’s mostly static and with very steady camera movements.

With that particular scene that you’re talking about, the ‘hand holding’ scene…of course, while you’re in the institute (SRFTI), you watch (Robert) Bresson. And I was a big fan of him, but I don’t know if I remembered him while designing that shot. The scene was about these two people in the centre of this prayer for the dead, but at the same time, there is something going on between these two (women, an emotional exchange). There is drama, there is tension and friction, but without any dialogue. That was interesting to explore. That scene has so much of an impact because of the actors’ performance.

And also Sushin Shyam’s (Kumbalangi Nights, Manjummel Boys, Aavesham) wonderful background score and music elevates that experience.

I talked to him long back when he was doing Kumbalangi Nights. My sound designer JD (Jayadevan Chakkadath) had suggested his name. I went and read the story to him, he liked it. My project took time to go on the floor (eight years) and then to finally get to theatres. But he was always my choice to do the music.

A still from the film.

Why was it necessary to also give Urvashi’s character, Leelamma, a secret. Was it to assuage Parvathy’s Anju’s hiding the truth?

I think the story wouldn’t have been so interesting and powerful if it weren’t the case. From the beginning itself, the story had both their secrets. It is inspired from a lot of things that happen in and around you, in families, the stories that you heard. With every film, there is a certain kind of vision that you go with. The idea here was that it’s a story of these people who are stuck in this place, and they all have their version to the story. And if you look at the story from their version, they are not wrong. That is the idea I wanted to explore.

What’s also interesting are the minor characters in your film, each has their own secret, especially the mother character (Jaya Kurup).

With the mother character, I wanted to bring in class difference into the picture, that Leelamma’s family was a little bit higher in financial position than Anju’s family. I wanted to bring those layers and dynamics to the story. And with the mother’s character or for any character, I wanted them to have their moment in the story, for them to have an agency, to have an impact on how the story takes shape, because if you remove any one person from the equation, the story would not stand.

A still from the film.

With Anju’s Hindu lover Rajeev (Arjun Radhakrishnan), how important was it for you to bring in the angle of an interfaith love, was it a conscious decision in keeping with the times?

Because I have grown up in a very conservative Christian family, marrying somebody outside that faith would be unthinkable. That would be disastrous for the person, for the families and for the community. I know how much of an effect it can have on a person or on the family. Of course, now, maybe things have changed a little bit, but I wanted to address these things which I have seen growing up, because coming from a conservative society and family, these things matter a lot. Even in the so-called progressive families from urban places, you would have similar kind of problems. Like, if you’re marrying somebody outside your religion, caste or someone who’s not on a par with your financial status, you could run into trouble with your family. I wanted to reflect that.

A behind-the-scenes shot from during the making of the film.

What are you working on next?

I am working on a couple of projects, including a web series and a couple of features. Hopefully, a few of them will go on the floor soon.