Shahi Kabir has executed what he does finest once more — tapping into his life as a former police officer and weaving hard-hitting narratives. The latest one being Ronth, his sophomore film as director.
A slow-burner, the story zooms into the lifetime of two law enforcement officials, Yohannan (Dileesh Pothan) and Dinanath (Roshan Mathew), who’re out on evening patrol with Dinanath on the wheel, forward of Christmas. There is a simmering rigidity between the 2. Dinanath is an idealistic rookie whereas Yohannan is pragmatic and hardened by expertise. As they take care of a number of instances that evening, a few of which go away them distraught and traumatised, they ultimately strike a bond. By the time their shift ends, they’re caught in a lure, resulting in an inevitable climax.
Real to reel
Shahi says a number of incidents proven within the movie have both occurred to him or different law enforcement officials that he is aware of, with ample layers of fiction added to the storyline. “I have done night patrolling on many occasions in my career. Also, there are shades of my character in Roshan, especially fear, apprehension, and anxiety. Yohannan has the traits of many senior officers whom I have worked with and about whom I’ve heard of from fellow cops.”
Having written or directed 4 cop dramas until now — Joseph(author), Nayattu(author), Ela Veezha Poonchira(director) and Officer on Duty (author), Shahi admits that the topic is his consolation zone in the meanwhile. “Even though I look forward to write a different genre, the industry expects cop stories from me.” He resigned from police pressure just a few months in the past after 13 years of service. “I was on leave for five years. With more opportunities coming in it was difficult to balance both. So I put in my papers.”
Shahi Kabir with Roshan Mathew and Dileesh Pothan on the units of Ronth
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Ronth is his first movie as a director and scriptwriter. His directorial debut, Ela Veezha Poonchira, was written by fellow law enforcement officials, Nidheesh G and Shaji Maraad. “It was tough being a writer and director at the same time. If it was another person’s story he would have been around to point out inconsistencies or remind me of things. Handling both roles was difficult, especially because a significant portion of the film happens at night. We had 36 days of night shoot at Iritty (in Kannur district) and some 10 to 15 kilometres around it. That was stressful enough. I wished there was a writer with me to share the load.”
Shahi factors out that evening shoots have been equally difficult for cinematographer Manesh Madhavan, who has labored with him in Joseph and Ela Veezha Poonchira. “It couldn’t be too raw. Also, lights had to be just right. He had to find a balance between being realistic and cinematic.”
Shooting the film in sync sound added to the difficulties. “There were so many practical challenges, with so much noise around. The sound team (Sinoy Joseph, who did sound mixing, and Arun Asok and Sonu KP, who handled sync sound and sound design) worked so hard on this to give the best output.”
Shahi provides that he had thought in regards to the story quickly after the discharge of Nayattu (2021), which gained him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Story. “But due to COVID-induced restrictions, we went ahead with Ela Veezha Poonchira, since the film needed a geographically-locked setting. Otherwise Ronth would have been made back then.”
As for the solid, Shahi believes he couldn’t have requested for a greater solid. “They are two of the best actors in the industry. Roshan is a great performer and I was confident that it will be different from what he has done so far.”
Shahi Kabir
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He considers Dileesh his guru, having began his profession as an assistant director within the latter’s directorial enterprise, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, which gained three National awards and two State awards. “Pothettan had once said he wanted to act in a police story written by me and that has finally happened. We have seen different shades of him as an actor. I felt that this role would benefit from his capabilities as an actor. Pothettan being a director did not come in the way while he was acting. He does not look at the monitor after his scenes, except to check continuity. Roshan is also like that. They both left it to me to judge their scenes.”
Shahi provides that he prefers his actors to improvise. “I do not insist on dialogues being delivered the way I wrote them. Pothettan asked if he can improvise in a particular scene and the result was overwhelming.”
While he believes that Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum has probably the most practical portrayal of police in Malayalam cinema, Shahi factors out that the change has occurred over time. “There has been an evolution of sorts. There was a time when police characters were there just for laughs, as in the case of Adoor Bhasi, Bahadur, Indrans, Cochin Haneefa etc. Then came the stories of upright, honest police officers. After a point, police officers became the bad guys… it kept changing and we reached the stage where the portrayal became more realistic.”
Ronth is the primary Malayalam manufacturing of Junglee Pictures, the famend manufacturing and distribution home whose filmography consists of Hindi movies reminiscent of Dil Dhadakne Do, Talvar, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Raazi, Badhai Ho, Badhai Do, Ulajh and many others. Ronth is a co manufacturing between Junglee Pictures and Festival Cinemas run by Rathish Ambat, Renjith EVM and Jojo Jose.
Apparently Shahi was chosen by the manufacturing home for his or her entry into Malayalam. “I don’t know how I figured in their list. And when they called me to Mumbai for narration, I was told that there was someone in their team who knew Malayalam. But that was not the case. I was in for a shock when over a dozen of them sat around a table expecting me to narrate the story. Roshan, who had already worked in Ulajh, was with me then and thankfully he took over as we had discussed Ronth a few years ago. He saved the day.”
Dileesh Pothan and Roshan Mathew in Ronth
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Currently on a promotion spree for the movie, Shahi observes that bringing folks to theatres has turn out to be extra vital now. “Commercial success is all that matters; unless a film works at the cinema, OTT platforms will not buy it.”
Meanwhile he’s writing the script for 2 movies, one directed by Rathish Ambat and different by editor Kiran Das.
Published – June 19, 2025 01:09 pm IST
