Tuesday Sep 25 2007, Trivendrum

Biju Viswanath: “Lorg is a challenging experiene”

Biju Viswanath, hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala is someone who has a strong kind of passion for Cinema.This cinematographer-cum-director has always tried to maintain his stand by making films with a difference, whether it is on the big screen or the television.One of his earlier films Déjà vu, featuring in the cast British actors Paddy Fletcher and Simon Binns, was shown at many international festivals and won rave appreciation from all quarters.His recent film, Mahotsav (‘The Grand Festival’), has been premiered in the Pusan Fest and is touring many other festivals too.The film, which is in English and Hindi, is awaiting release in India.

Biju Viswanath, who had done short films like A Voyage, Second Coming etc and projects on television like O Henry Kathakal (an adaptation of short stories by O.Henry), Neekkam (based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Move) etc, has also cranked the camera for films like Phantom (the Malayalam film with Mammootty in the lead role), Poi (the recent Tamil film directed by K.Balachander etc).And now Biju Viswanath has embarked on a film which is made in the Irish language and which is shot completely in Ireland.Biju Viswanath, who has also been a jury member of the National Awards in 2003, is now back in Thiruvananthapuram after the second schedule of shooting in Ireland.

He speaks about the film in detail in a recent interview.Excerpts:

Please tell us about your new Irish film?

The film titled Lorg in Irish is about a quest for the missing pieces in a woman’s life.Lorg in fact itself means ‘Quest’.The film is about the different stages in the life of a very independent woman and is based on six poems penned by Irish poetess Celia de Friene.The script has been penned based on her six poems and the film thus happens to be a series of stories woven into a film.It’s on the whole the life and memories of an Irish poet.

How was the experience of shooting in Ireland?

It was a very nice experience indeed.The one big difference that I noticed was that they are very organized and systematic in their working, compared to us.I was the only Indian in the all-Irish crew and for me it was a very good experience.Till now, we shot mostly in the summer and autumn and the one great thing about Ireland is the quality of light.

We got daylight till 10 pm and hence we could shoot for longer hours there.In total shooting Lorg in Ireland was a rather different and memorable kind of experience.

How did you get in touch with Celia de Friene for the first time and how was it working together with her?

She had contacted me after being impressed with my film Mahotsav, which was screened at the New York Fest.She expressed her desire to get this kind of a film made and we went in for discussions and all and it was that the film materialized.Celia, who is a very talented writer, has won several awards for her poetic works and also for her plays.

We started working on the screenplay of Lorg six months back and she has been there in every stage of the film’s making.It is really a pleasant experience working with so sensible a writer like her.

So, when is the film going to be completed?

We have already done shooting in two schedules.The first was in summer and the second in the fall, I mean autumn.And now there are two more schedules left.

The third schedule will be in November while the fourth and last schedule is slated for March.And the film will be released in Ireland in July 2008.It’s taking so long since the seasons have got to play a very prominent role in the film itself.

How different if Lorg from Déjà vu and Mahotsav?

It’s on account of the theme that Lorg is different.The whole structure too is something that is different.

Speaking about the structure I must mention that since the film is about six stages in the life of a woman, Lorg is in a way a compilation of six different stories narrated in different styles.For me, as a director, it was rather challenging.As for Mahotsav,

how is it faring in the festival circuits?

As you know, the film was premiered at the Pusan Festival, where it received a standing ovation.It has also been screened at the New York festival, the New Jersey fest, the Manila festival, the Trivandrum International Film Festival, the California Festival and the Zanzibar Festival.At the California Festival, Mahotsav even won an audience award.

It’s eliciting good response and rave reviews from all quarters.