It was with sort of a thrill that I rang up Mr.T.N.Gopakumar the other day. I was going to interview him and I knew very well that it was going to be a very different experience. Of course T.N.Gopakumar is one of the most reputed journalists in the country and is also now a filmmaker, but for me he is something more than that. He is for me Gopakumar sir, one of the teachers who had taught me the basics of journalism at the Institute of Journalism, Press Club, Thiruvananthapuram. And hence the thought that I was going to interview my own teacher excited me. And when I met him at his residence in Pettah, Thiruvananthapuram a couple of hours later and introduced myself, not forgetting to mention that I had been a student of his, I could see that he didn't of course remember me. And I too didn't expect him to remember me.

It was impossible for so reputed a person to remember one of the many faces in a classroom, and so I didn't feel bad about it.T.N.Gopakumar is not a new name to Kerala and Keraliites. A man who has established himself in the journalistic circuits of Delhi, has turned to the visual media with the attitude of a real journalist. And had been enlightening the viewers of the mini-screen for the past seven years with his weekly current affairs show Kannadi on ASIANET. As a man of the visual media he did some tele-films and documentaries too and also did a tele-serial Verukal, based on the masterpiece novel of the same name by noted writer the Late Malayaattoor Ramakrishnan.

And now, T.N.Gopakumar has turned to the big screen too. His debut venture on the big screen Jeevan Mosai has already completed shooting in Mararikulam and is sure to be one of the best films of 2001. Jeevan Mosai , based on Thara Shanker Bannerjee's classical novel Arogyanikethan, has Nedumudi Venu doing the title role of Jeevan Mosai and with him in the role of Attar Bau is none other than veteran actress Sreevidya. Others in the cast include Kavya Madhavan, Ganeshan, M.R.Gopakumar etc.

T.N.Gopakumar has got a really good team of artists and technicians with him for his debut film and hopes to be able to reproduce on the silver screen the classical work of Indian literature without losing its essence in any way. The reputed journalist-turned-filmmaker speaks about Jeevan Mosai, his maiden venture in this interview.

What really inspired you to chose Aarogyanikethan for your debut venture as a filmmaker? And don't you feel that you have strained yourself too much by taking up such a great work of literature for your debut film?
I had read Aarogyanikethan some 30 years ago and I had always been wondering why we have never made a Malayalam film on so great a work. I felt that maybe it was because people were rather afraid of the Bengali ethos and element in the story and were therefore hesitant in adapting it in Malayalam. Aarogyanikethan is perhaps the best novel that I have ever read in any Indian language, translated or otherwise. And hence I always wondered as to why so powerful a work was never adapted for the big screen or the mini screen. And since I felt that it should be adapted for the big screen I have decided to give it a try. Maybe I am a fool. And fools do tread where angels fear to tread. Anyhow I know that it is a great challenge and I so took it up as a challenge.
Nowadays only few works of literature are made into films. And the viewers too don't seem to accept and encourage such works. In such a context, isn't it a great risk to have taken such a work for your first film?
Yes, there is some amount of risk and challenge involved. But of course, in the last few years some works of literature were made into films. Adoor's Vidheyan, M.T's films etc. So, I believe it is all just a question of looking at things. And it doesn't mean that since the work of literature is a great one, the film too has to be great. Then of course the success. In what terms do we judge the success of a film I am sure that my film is not going to have a success as that of Narasimham or even Vaasanthiyum, Lekshmiyum Pinne Njaanum.

I have planned my film in such a way that my producer doesn't burn his fingers and lose his money. Of course there will be only a very marginal profit or maybe it will be just that he will come out without incurring any losses. I am making the film in a very small budget using very good artists, good technicians and I have worked on the script for months. I have even planned the shots in my mind months before I started shooting. At the same time I am not underestimating the Malayalee viewer.

The fact is that they are not given these kind of films. Some of the serious film had done well in recent years, like T.V.Chandran's Ponthan Maada. Anyhow it is a challenge. For me it is a greater challenge since I am doing an alien subject. I am doing it neither as a Bengali subject nor as a Malayalee one, but as an Indian story which I am shooting in Malayalam. This is going to be an Indian film with an Indian theme. I am sure that a sizeable section of the cinemagoers will definitely see this film that way.

Which format have you adapted, that of an art-house movie or that of a commercial movie?
Jeevan Mosai is a serious cinema on a serious subject. I am showing my respect to the book in all respects. Regarding the format, if you are asking me if it is a slow movie, it is not a slow movie. It's a very fast moving one. There are songs-three songs. I have written these songs myself, but I look at these songs as part of my script. These are intended to create certain moods or situations. I am also stylizing the character of Mrityu in the form of Pinkalakesini, which is a Bengali concept. So, songs and all are commercial elements. But I don't look at it that way. It is a serious, fast-paced movie of course with dramatic moments. It is a very serious movie. I won't call it a parallel or mainstream or art or commercial movie. Jeevan Mosai is a serious cinema in which I have used all the possibilities available at my command as a user of this media.

This being your first film, are you fully prepared for the take-off?
Sure I am. Of course I had to do a lot of preparations. Firstly, this book has something like 300 characters. My first job was to reduce the number to 30-40 characters. So I am reducing the number of characters by one-tenth, which naturally has to reflect in the scenes. I am very confident about the script I have written. I am very confident about the cameraman I am using. I am very confident about the producer's backing. I am very confident about the team of artists I have chosen, all of whom have done a really good work.

Nedumudi Venu has done the major role. He has done three stages of Jeevan Mosai, the central character. At one stage he comes at age of 35, at another he comes at the age of 50 and at the third stage he comes at the age of 70. 70% of the film has been done in the third stage when Nedumudi plays the character at the age of 70. And the other two stages come only in flashback. Same is the case of Sreevidya. She also comes in these three stages.

There are a couple of friends of the character Jeevan Mosai who also appear in the three stages. So it is a difficult film. Well, it is a difficult job. I have attempted something different. The whole team has attempted something different. But Malayalees have a lot of talent, and I believe that the final product that comes before you will prove this. I am confident.

The name Jeevan Mosai- isn't it an uncommon name as far as the Malayalee audience is concerned?
Well, the name of the novel Aarogyanikethan did not sound like a film-name to me. I am giving total importance to the character of Jeevan Mosai. There are a very few scenes only in which the character of Jeevan Mosai doesn't appear. I have put that much burden on Nedumudi Venu and he has done a good job of it as I had expected.

Three stages of the same character, and he had to undergo total transformation. So much involvement was there. I sat with Nedumudi Venu and had discussions on the script, on the character- how he should stand, how he should sit, etc. So it was a challenge and we took it up. Since the character has so much prominence in the film, the title I think is apt for the movie.
You have started at a stage when Malayalam Cinema is in some sort of a crisis, as many people are heard saying. How do you feel having started at this stage?
Crisis! They say this only because the number of films that are being made have gone down. Quality-wise, there are very serious films that are being made. Serious filmmakers have all made films or are making films. Which serious filmmaker is not making films? Of course Mr. Adoor has been silent for the past couple of years. But others are active. Pavithran has made a film.

T.V.Chandran is making films. Jayaraj makes films. Shaji.N.Karun made Vaanaprastham. And there is no crisis for Mammootty or Mohanlal. The only thing is that the number of films made has come down. Low budget films like T.V.Chandran's, M.P.Sukumaran Nair's, mine etc. are being made. Superstar films with a budget of 2-3 crores of rupees are also made. So what is not being made are the mediocre type of films. The absence of such films is creating confusion in the industry. People are heard asking doubts about big-budget films? They are heard remarking that in place of a 2 or 3 crore-budget film, we could easily make 4 or 5 good, mediocre films. This is what is causing confusion.

Recently when M.T's film was premiered on a TV channel, some people made a lot of fuss about it. Whom are we talking about? M.T.Vasudevan Nair. What's his contribution to Malayalam Cinema? People seem to be least bothered about the contributions of such a gifted filmmaker. Even he is discouraged. That is the situation.

Gopakumar, the man of letters. Gopakumar, the journalist. And now Gopakumar, the filmmaker. Do you feel that Gopakumar the journalist and Gopakumar the man of letters will be satisfied with Gopakumar the filmmaker?
Gopakumar the filmmaker is jut being born, Of course journalist Gopakumar will judge the filmmaker Gopakumar later, after the film is released. I hope Journalist Gopakumar doesn't get disappointed with the filmmaker Gopakumar. If the film is bad, I can promise you that I can't make another film. I hope sincerely that the journalist Gopakumar doesn't get disappointed with the filmmaker Gopakumar or the Kannadi Gopakumar doesn't get disappointed with the filmmaker Gopakumar.