Exclusive | Rahul Sadasivan Unpacks The Hidden Meanings In 'Diés Iraé'

What does the spooky staircase signify in Pranav Mohanlal-starrer Diés Iraé? How many ghosts were present with Rohan in his mansion? What does the ending of the film really mean? Writer-director Rahul Sadasivan explains all this and more as he settles down for a post-release discussion.

(Spoilers ahead: read only after watching Diés Iraé: The Day Of Wrath.)

What I continue to find fascinating about your work is how you’re able to plant supernatural elements over issues we all deal with. If Bhoothakalam spoke about grief, Bramayugam was about caste. Diés Iraé addresses both loneliness and obsession. How do you combine such disparate elements?

It comes in during the writing stage itself. Let me give you an example. The frustration Shane Nigam’s character feels in Bhoothakalam is the same frustration I felt at that point in my life. I hadn’t been able to make a film for 10 years, and that joblessness weighed on me. I was able to flesh that frustration out into Vinu’s character. When people ask me if I write about ghosts and spirits from life experience, of course I say I don’t. But the human elements in my films do come from my lived experiences.

But what comes first—the characters or the setting?

Honestly, there’s no set pattern. It could be a visual that sets the ball rolling. In Bramayugam, the writing began with the visual of the Chathan coming out of that spell. In Diés Iraé, the image of a man chopping off the legs of a corpse was what came to mind first. I could also imagine a set of anklets (chilanka) on these legs and oddly, it was a man that was wearing them. Now, I began writing backwards to get to this disturbing image. That’s how it started.

What was your brief for Rohan, the Pranav Mohanlal character?

He’s a playboy who lives this seemingly empty life. He’s a spoilt brat who doesn't care about those around him. Rohan believes he’s above everyone else…in his intro, we see him coming down the stairs of his house to open the front door. But after a point, he can longer go up these stairs, especially after the ghost begins to confront him. This spirit is finally something that is “above” him…a force he just cannot understand. That’s what the staircase signifies.

I noticed how his character arc is denoted too through subtle images...

Exactly. When Rohan first visits Kani’s (Sushmita Bhatt) house after her suicide, he refuses to remove his shoes. By the second time, it becomes evident that there’s a change in him. He respects them a lot more now and he removes his shoes. He feels sorry for what he’s done.

But why would a guy like Rohan want to visit Kani’s home?

No matter what you say about him, he still feels guilty for what he’s done to Kani (she commits suicide after he “ghosts” her). At first, he goes to Kani’s house just to give his friend some company. He’s not willing to apologise to Kani and at that stage, you see him shout “WTF do you need from me B*#!CH?”, when the spirit begins to mess with him. Much later, when remorse sets in and he’s finally ready to apologise, that marks the start of his transformation.

At what stage did you feel like connecting the Madhu character (Gibin Gopinath) to that of Mammootty’s from Bramayugam?

I’d written a similar arc for Madhu too and the film begins with him experiencing that premonition. When the tea glass breaks, Madhu can foresee that something terrible is about to happen. It’s almost like a gift he possesses and for that, I wanted him to be in the same lineage as a man like Kodumon Potti (Mammootty in Bramayugam). Another Easter Egg is one of the chairs in Madhu’s house. During a montage, you’ll notice his mother resting on a chair…it’s Kodumon Potti’s exact chair from Bramayugam. You’ll also find Kodumon Potti’s walking sticks in Madhu’s house.

How did Manu, the Shine Tom Chacko character, die? Was it entirely due to natural causes?

He had cancer. If you look around his room, you’d be able to see several reports of him having lung cancer. It began with him coughing and the treatment for it must have been super expensive. That’s why we introduce his mother Elsamma (Jaya Kurup) in the cattle shed, explaining how she had to sell many cows. Even her monologue at the end details Manu’s breathing issues.

How do you look at Manu’s character? Is he Kani’s stalker?

He’s obsessed with her. There are many people who fall in love with a person but just cannot gather the courage to confess to them. Manu felt that with Kani. Plus, there’s also the class difference because his mother works as the house help in Kani’s house. But even after he dies, he’s not able to let go on Kani. He’s in the same room when Rohan enters to take that hair clip. Manu follows Rohan home to understand why he took that hair clip.

How did you want to reveal the presence of a male ghost in Rohan’s house for the interval? Was it always the plan to write a horror movie with two ghosts in it?

The only option was to show an image of a headless male ghost. Until that point, the idea was to establish the ghost to be that of Kani’s. Even the shot of the ghost fondling Rohan’s hair was for that. We also see a clip of Kani doing the same to Rohan when she was alive. I wanted the interval twist to establish the presence of a male ghost. It’s deception. There are always two ghosts in the house, and even as Rohan is dealing with Manu’s spirit, Kani’s is standing right there.

Kani’s brother Kiran is an interesting character. The scene in which he falls off the roof is one of the most frightening scenes. But what I don’t understand is the reason for either of the two ghosts (Kani or Manu) to attack Kiran. He hasn’t done anything.

This was established in a scene we had to cut out. It is Manu, the Shine Tom Chacko’s character who is pushing Kiran off the roof. At the outset, it could be because he hates seeing Kiran drinking and having a good time with the man (Rohan), who hurt Kani so much. But more than that, we had a scene in which Elsamma visits Kani’s house to ask her parents if they’ll allow Kani to marry Manu. During that interaction, it is Kiran who is very dismissive of Manu and his family. Manu’s actions were perhaps a revenge for the humiliation.

Why did you choose the tail-end in which Rohan discovers that the ghost hasn’t yet left his house?

Eventually, it’s because of Rohan that Kani committed suicide. Even if we, as the audience, root for Rohan, he has still committed a grave mistake. With that tail-end, we didn’t want to let go of Rohan so easily. He will continue to remain haunted. As Elsamma says, “Death Is Only The Beginning.” Kani might haunt Rohan for the rest of his life.