Mollywood is inspired by real life incidents

Stories based on real life incidents seem to be the flavour of the season in the Malayalam film industry.
Sameer Thahir’s latest outing, Neelakasham Pacha Kadal Chuvanna Bhoomi, Anil Das’ next film, True Story, and Sanjeev Sivan’sVenal Odungathae are all based on real life incidents. Here is a look at real stories with a reel makeover.
Not many know thatNeelakasham… is based on real life.In fact, the reason why the director presented the movie in a realistic way was because it was based on various incidents from the life of its scriptwriter, Hashir Mohamed.
“I have written what I have seen in my life. Be it the suicide in the opening scene, the Shyam murder, or even the Raghavji they meet on the way, are all based on true incidents,” says Hashir, adding that taking a cue from one’s own life makes it easy to write a story. “More than making a fictional subject, it is easy to pen down what is happening around you. I have been to a similar road trip to the North East; I was there for a month travelling, and had unforgettable experiences with surfers. It was easy for me to jot down the story. I just needed to brush up my memory,” he says.
If Hashir’s story was more about youth and fun, other films based of real incidents are more serious in nature. Anil Das’ next film, True Story, is one such — about a girl who is in search of her identity. Priya Mani plays the lead here. Touted to be a psychological thriller, the story is inspired by an incident that his friend encountered. “I had met a psychiatric patient while I was visiting my friend, who is a psychiatrist. That meeting stayed in my mind, but it took me three years to come up with the film,” says Anil. He further adds that it was the advancements in technology that prompted him to pursue the story. “Our audience doesn’t appreciate the usual run-of-the-mill characters anymore. They need something different. And now, it is easy to do psychological thrillers,” he says. There are also movies based on socially relevant subjects.
Sanjeev Sivan’s Salim Kumar, Seema Biswas-starrer Venal Odungathae, is the story of an old couple fighting for their dead son’s semen. The couple from Ernakulam wanted to use the semen to have a surrogate child, to replace their dead son. Sanjeev, who did a documentary on the incident, was touched by the couple’s plight and decided to bring it to life on the big screen.
Similarly, Anil V Thomas’ Maram Peyyumpol is based on the brutal rape of Aruna Shanbaug, which happened 40 years ago. The character of Aruna, who is in a vegetative state, will be played by Akam fame Anumol.
Even action movies based on real life incidents are being made in Mollywood. Rajesh Nair’s Rima Kallingal-starrer,Escape From Uganda, is based on the story of his friend, who got stuck in Africa. “Unlike in Tamil, where people prefer to watch larger than life characters, the Malayali audience love to watch more realistic stories now. I decided to take up this story because it was something nobody has told so far,” says Rajesh, adding that you have an advantage when you can relate to a subject.