Emcy Joseph’s Meesha is an ode to friendship, however totally different from the saccharine ‘bros before everything’ bromances. The movie, which releases on August 1, is about two buddies and the ups and downs in their bond. The relationship between the two buddies, from very totally different social backgrounds, oscillates between varied emotional states, the most simple being love (not romantic) and hate as they be taught to dwell with one another’s decisions, usually misunderstanding their motives. Although the movie explores the greys of a friendship, the characters have an inherent goodness to them. The proverbial poisonous masculinity is absent.
Hakkim Shah, Kathir, Jeo Baby, Sudhi Koppa and Shine Tom Chacko headline Meesha. The movie traverses locales — from the calm coast to the intense forest with its wildlife — the place the characters face their not-so nice facet. The tussle between man and beast represents the conflict inside the characters as they face their true emotions. The latter half of the movie, because it strikes in the direction of the climax, is metaphor heavy.
“Meesha is about male friendships, the essence of which, I feel, has been diluted. Male friendships have been reduced to togetherness and ‘happiness’. There are so many ‘friends’ — virtual, gym, rider, college, office buddies. I am speaking of that handful of friends with whom we have an emotional connection. And such bonds come with commitments — deeply emotional ones —and I am talking about those in Meesha,” says Emcy.
Excerpts from an interview
The proper actors
Casting is the most essential factor once I make a movie. Suraj ettan (Venjaramoodu) obtained a Kerala State Film Award for my first movie, which made me very completely satisfied. I need to proceed that prime, and I hope one of the actors in this movie additionally will get an award as a result of they’ve all executed very nicely. They have put forth incredible performances. I used to be explicit that every one the actors/characters ought to ‘perform’ in it. Though the characters I’ve written have an arc, the readability comes when the ‘body’ (the actors) steps in. The character grows with their arrival, not on the units however throughout pre-production discussions. I don’t talk about the character on the set, I simply inform them what they shouldn’t do. At the finish of the day, the director can’t turn into the character, give it physique. That solely an actor can. And usually, when actors put forth the efficiency, I as a director, can solely assume… ‘wow! I didn’t assume of it that means!’.
Emcy with Kathir on the units of ‘Meesha’
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
So, Meesha is totally different from different ‘friendship’ movies?
Besides love and affection in friendships, there could possibly be a splash of jealousy, anger and even obsession. Disappointment that our buddies didn’t act the means we anticipated them to. These are feelings that might be absent in the ‘passive’ friendships I discussed earlier, nevertheless the deeper bonds would have all these feelings. Even ego for that matter…that’s the sort of buddies and friendships we’re talking about in the movie.
What led to it [Meesha]?
The inspiration got here from actual life incidents, of course. There is that this factor I needed to point out — the male ego which makes us behave like we’re unaffected by the feelings. We twirl our moustaches in delight. My try is to supply a peek into what’s behind the pretence of being egotistical and detached, males will be deeply emotional, really feel disappointment, and disappointment in terms of friendships. The camaraderie in male friendships is well known, nevertheless it has a number of different layers like every other relationship. Like we do with our moms, wives or youngsters…we really feel the similar gamut of feelings in terms of our buddies too.
This isn’t one thing we see usually in Malayalam cinema — the not-so-sweet facet of male friendships.
Yes, there are few movies in that house which converse of the greys of male friendships. Amidst movies that talk of the celebration that friendship is, Meesha is totally different.
A scene from Vikrithi
Are you a social observer, having made a movie like Vikrithi additionally impressed by an actual life incident?
I believe all of us who dwell in this world are social observers, we’re watching what is going on round us. We can’t dwell in any other case, if we don’t and are unaware of what’s going on, we shall be irrelevant to others — our phrases, ideas and actions. We are with the instances as a result of we observe our environment. I want to make movies which are socially related. I don’t need to be preachy, it’s displaying individuals a mirror.
It’s been some time since Vikrithi.
It’s been 4 years since. We began filming a film with Arjun Ashokan and Anna Ben, throughout the second wave of Covid-19. Everything was prepared after we needed to hit pause; that’s once I began scripting this. Writing Meesha took a pair of years. While that one was about 40-odd girls, Meesha is about males! (laughs).
Can we anticipate that subsequent?
I’m not certain if that shall be my subsequent movie, however it’ll occur in some unspecified time in the future. If it had occurred then it could have been again to again movies.
Are you any person who likes to make films again to again, or would you favor to tempo your self?
I might positively like to try this. It is essential that I get the topics that I need to make movies about. However, I want to make movies nearer to one another and it would occur now as a result of I’ve a pair of scripts prepared.
Meesha releases in theatres on August 1
