The 52-minute interaction between the lead cast and crew of Patriot was always expected to be something of a high-profile social media event but the episode which aired on JioHotstar on April 23 was a lot more than any other promotional event. Of course, it brought together Mammootty and Mohanlal under the same roof, but the episode did so much more with their presence that the enjoyment was that of entering onto the sets of their movie to get a firsthand idea of just how much fun it must have been to shoot with friends. With a well-defined theme and great chemistry, the episode leads the way in bringing the biggest talents together with one purpose and to use that use smartly to divulge just enough information about their upcoming film.
Here are ten takeaways from the interaction and learnings about Patriot, arguably the biggest and most exciting Malayalam film of the year.
The theme around which the episode is framed has to do with the idea of screentime. It’s a big film with even bigger stars and the role each star gets is something of a curiosity for all viewers. This is the aspect of the film the makers have tried to address. With jokes about both Kunchacko Boban and Fahadh Faasil getting sidelined in the final film to Mohanlal playing an extended cameo, the episode double guesses several questions in the mind of the viewer and finds a clever way to address them all.
Ad-guru and actor Prakash Varma plays the role of the outsider, seen interacting with the cast and crew of the film to give us an external POV of Patriot, its plot and the shoot. In a hilarious comic avatar, he tries to create petty rifts between the cast and crew of the film by claiming that he has seen the final version of the film, unlike most of the actors. The actors go on to call him a ladder (enni in Malayalam), for the way he’s trying to mislead and involve himself in a place, just to create trouble.
The episode also reiterates how the film is primarily driven by its characters, without any forced inclusions just to appeal to fanbases. Director Mahesh Narayanan shared that he never wrote Patriot with any particular actor in mind, and without any attempts to accommodate the current starcast. He also spoke about the four women playing equally important roles in the film. This includes Nayanthara, Revathy, Darshana Rajendran and Zarin Shihab, all of whom play vital roles in moving the film forward.
Although an exact figure is not discussed, referring to the cost of the film, Mammootty explains a certain worry before the launch of the film to make it viable. The scope of the story was extensive and arguably too big for a Malayalam film. There’s even a joke about the director’s demands in the script included fighter jets, airports, planes, ships, boats and helicopters, all of which come with a heavy price tag. The director also noted that the film’s logistics was challenging given how it needed to be shot in India, Sri Lanka, UK and Azerbaijan. New Delhi also appears to be a major highlight in the film’s setting.
Among the co-incidences of Patriot and the people it brings together is how director Fazil has a role to play in it. Fazil is the legendary director to have introduced Mohanlal, Kunchacko Boban and Fahadh Faasil (his son) to the movies. He has also made several blockbusters with Mammootty in the lead and he also produced Malayankunju, a film that was both written and shot by Mahesh Narayanan. As addressed in the interaction, Patriot is also a mini Harikrishnans reunion. The last time both Mammootty and Mohanlal played lead roles in a film together was this 1998 Fazil film. The same film also had Kunchacko Boban and Rajeev Menon playing important roles, just like they do in Patriot.
As reported and announced by Fahadh Faasil at a public event, his character is said to be the film’s main antagonist, although Mammootty doesn’t quite seem to agree to limit that role to just a “villain”. He is also the one who gets the longest and strongest punchlines in the film, making his character the most intriguing of the lot. An action scene featuring both Fahadh and Kunchacko could be a major highlight of the film.
Among the many lighter moments is one in which Mohanlal repeatedly refers to Kunchacko as Boban (his father’s name). Kunchacko playfully corrects Mohanlal for this usage, even as both the Big M’s continue to argue that Kunchacko is in fact the film’s “hero”, just because he’s the one with the fights, the romance and a song. This is also Kunchacko’s third film with Mahesh after Take Off and Ariyippu.
Among the many interesting anecdotes in the episode includes a “mass moment” involving Rajeev Menon. The legendary cinematographer of films like Bombay and Guru was asked if he tried to look at the technical aspects of Patriot, a film in which he is only acting in. When Rajeev Menon said that he didn’t, choosing to stick to acting alone, Mahesh narrated an incident in which Menon “broke character” to fix a lensing issue using a piece of black chart paper.
Another highlight of the episode was Mohanlal’s recurring gag with Prakash Varma. Each time the episode starts to become a tad serious, we see Mohanlal take out his mobile phone to continuously take Prakash Varma’s pictures. He says it’s his method to keep learning from Varma’s many expressions and the ease with which they both buy into the gag makes for crackling comedic chemistry. These bits does a lot in making the episode come alive given how it must transform into a promotional shoot, at least for the last 20 minutes of the 52-minute runtime.
The episode ends with Prakash Varma stating how such a collaboration in ONLY possible in Malayalam. Mammootty even underplays the phenomenon by stating how it is all easily possible, yet again in Malayalam. They also do not forget to leave us hanging with a cliffhanger as Prakash asks everyone the billion dollar question: Mammootty or Mohanlal, who is the better actor?