Interview | Malayalam filmmaker Vinod AK: ‘Moonwalk’ is inspired by many real -life stories

Vinod for one, the beginning of his direction, MoonwalkA trip to an era is a trip down when a generation had a breakdance, Michael Jackson and of course, accustomed to the moonwalk. Vinod has packed all this in this slice-off-life story about a group of young men in the late 80s, which fell in love with a dance style and weaved his world around it as well as he navigated the ups and downs of his personal life.

Advertising filmmaker visit Moonwalk Thiruvananthapuram can be held responsible for his student days. “We were fans of disco trends and preferred to see Kamal Haasan and Mithun Chakraborty’s choice. But when we were introduced for a breakdance, you could not imagine the kick that we had met in tricks, music, steps and style. I wondered that a group of US friends

He referred to some famous breakdance teams of that time in Thiruvananthapuram such as Footlosar, Spindle and Boomers. “We were in fear of their hair, costumes and perspectives. But as the years passed, most of these teams were dissolved.”

He did not plan to make a film on this subject. He says, “I had other stories with me and had almost reached the production stages of the project, but had to leave. When I thought of a film on a breakdaning community,” he says.

The Major Impatus is a documentary on the breakdaning community that he conceptualized. “We covered Kerala dancers with Jomith Johnny, who are in my team, tracking many veterans.”

The documentary could not be released, says Vinod, as it was too long and there were some copyright issues. “When we realized that there was enough material for a feature film. We flexed the draft and came with a script,” Vinod, who wrote it with Matthew Vargis and Sunil Gopalakrishnan, who is working with him in his advertising films.

still Moonwalk
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Vinod accepts that Moonwalk Many are inspired by real -life stories. “It is a compilation what happened in the lives of many dancers. But we have changed those true events because some of these stories are heartbreaking,” they say.

Vinod says that the film must have been released first for the epidemic. “Although we planned a break in the schedule to show different stages in the life of the characters, Kovid -19 made it more delayed.”

In 2020, one part was completed, Vinod says, and the rest in 2023 and 2024. “There was confusion about taking it forward and the manufacturer, who was really my customer, was forced to return because neither they nor I was sure how it would come out.”

However, a savior director Lizo Jose came in the form of Pellicary. He supported the project, the other two manufacturers Listin Stephen and Jasinin Ahmed.

“But the film will still be unpublished for Lizo. It was Prashant Pillai (musician of the film) who told Lojo about the project. He liked and insisted that it was to be mounted and distributed on a large scale. For Listin, he called me when we issued a trailer three years ago. It seems that he was associated with it.”

Young, new faces are talking about the film with their performance and their dance tricks. “Our initial plan was for only actors of Thiruvananthapuram among the artists because the dialect would be easy for them. But it was not physical.”

Some known young actors were to be included to include the commercial value of the film, Vinod says. “It didn’t work since they did not see the age of the characters-17 or still. Even with makeup and costumes, it would be difficult for them to play that weak age. Also, they had busy programs and did not have time to prepare for roles.”

After several auditions, he found appropriate actors from Kerala and even outside. The lead roles are played by Anuath (Jake), Sujit (Arun), Rishi Kinira (Varuna), Manoj Musa (Shaji), Siddharth Babu (Shibu), Prem Shankar (Sudeep), Appu Asghar (Anikutan) and Sibi Kutappan (Sura).

“He was trained by Sreejith Dailers, one of the famous choreographers in the state. I contacted him after seeing his work. AmenThe best thing about him is that he is familiar with the braking styles in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, with many differences. He also worked with me in my advertising films. ,

Says Vinod, “Now you can go on YouTube or social media to learn any dance style. Then, these dancers learn each other’s steps. So there is some amateur about their performance.

Moonwalk The team also brought some experienced breakdans from Kerala for pre-relief promotion. “The film is about him and so we found him that it is suitable for him,” he says.

Vinod one, director Moonwalk
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The film is set in Thiruvananthapuram in the late 80s and it was difficult to come to appropriate places. “Kazkotam, for example, is no longer a quiet, underdeveloped area that used to be and so we had to shoot some scenes in another part of the city. It was another challenge to find a thick, uneven asphalt road!”

Music and background score is the mainstay of the film and Vinod believes that Prashant Pillai was the best on the board. “Initially, I wanted many musicians. Since I have worked with Prashant on some advertisements, I discussed the project with him. He was so excited that he immediately said ‘we are doing it.” So there was only a question of going to someone else.

Vinod is disappointed with that he could not use the original Michael Jackson songs or footage due to issues of copyright violations. “Lizo was specific about not violating it; Prashant was also alert. For example, the scene where he is going to play MJ’s DVD Thriller, We planned it in such a way that they cannot see it because the screen wobbles. We also twisted the original track! It is sad that we could not use his songs or tricks. It must have taken the film to another level. But we could not take that opportunity, ”he says.