2 hours Ago By Vignesh Madhu
After having done a bunch of noteworthy roles, particularly comic ones, Sajin Cherukayil is a familiar face among today’s Malayalam film lovers. But that’s not what he set out for initially. Sajin was nursing ambitions of writing films when some of his peers recognised the actor in him.
Though he went on to play key roles in films like , and , he continued to pursue his love for scripting. Five years after co-writing the Kunchacko Boban-starrer , Sajin has debuted as an independent writer with . The Nalsen-starrer, directed by Girish AD is a techno-thriller, centered around cyber crimes.
The film, admittedly inspired by and , has earned appreciation from many for its accurate portrayal of cyberspace and the various hacking techniques. Sajin’s writing also highlights how the internet provides a shelter of anonymity, where the hierarchies of the external world become irrelevant. A devoted tech geek, Sajin is as interested in technology as in cinema.
“I see technology philosophically,” laughs the writer. When probed on his thought-provoking Whatsapp status, which reads, ‘Linux users are the smartest, funniest, best-looking people on the internet’, Sajin explains, “IT is a massive industry where a lot of our data and money are exploited without our knowledge. While a corporate giant like Microsoft unlawfully takes advantage of its Windows monopoly, there exist many copyleft communities like Linux trying to counter them.
When I say, ‘Linux users are the smartest’, it’s part of my politics.” So that should explain where Sajin comes from. A few years back, Mohanlal fans hacked some Pakistan-based official websites in retaliation to an attempt to hack his blogging site.
This incident inspired me to tell a hacker’s story. I wanted the protagonist to be like someone from the fan community who sought revenge with his hacking knowledge. I developed a solid conflict through my background in cyber security.
Before joining cinema, I worked in the IT department of local finance companies, most of which were local chit-fund companies that later became NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies). Such firms are least concerned about cyber security, but because of RBI directives, they are forced to do at least the bare minimum. Since I was aware of the loopholes in the system, I incorporated the hacker’s story into this backdrop.
There are two reasons: On hearing the title ‘Kathalan’, everyone would assume a love story, which it’s clearly not. A person on the internet is also like that. He’s not what you perceive of him in real life.
The second reason is, of course, the film (1994). The first image that pops up is Prabhudeva’s headless figure from Muqabla song, which suggests anonymity, a key element in this film. Right from the beginning, I planned to keep it as grounded as possible.
I wanted to simplify the technological proceedings as we were not just catering to the IT audience. It’s ideal if they can connect far more than a common viewer, but the primary intention was to ensure everyone understands the film, even if they don’t like it. I was also excited by the freshness of narrating a hacking film set in a rural backdrop.
In most films, hackers appear only briefly to take the story forward and hence, they don’t have to get into the details. That’s why we were shown hacking through Windows Media Player tabs and random animated visuals of coding. At that time, the intention would’ve been just to show some new equipment and technology, but we can’t deceive the audience like that today.
So while scripting, I kept discussing every new scene with my friends in IT. For example, my initial idea was to show Naslen’s character hacking his girlfriend’s Instagram account. But I soon realised the blunder because it’s not easy to hack a social media giant like Instagram with such advanced security features.
I later reworked the scene as Vishnu trying different ways to get into her account but failing repeatedly. Girish is one of the most intelligent people I’ve come across. If I tell him that this guy hacks Instagram, he would immediately question me about its possibility.
Even if I convince him, he’ll research and verify. He might not know much about the technicalities but he’s sharp with logic. That’s why he’s able to do a film like .
It was a huge relief when Girish approved this film. No, it wasn’t there in the initial idea but as writing progressed, I felt Vishnu should be like that. If you notice, such people are usually quite nerdy and introverted.
The character was developed organically, but I admit that Girish’s characters might have also influenced me. Yes, the whole film revolves around this philosophy and we highlight it in the beginning with the quote, “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” It’s a popular adage and meme used while talking about internet anonymity.
In the film’s tail end, we see Vishnu and Simi (Lijomol Jose) interacting, but they’ll never be able to identify each other as hackers who till then were trying to outsmart each other. There’s no particular reason for that, we just wanted to retain the fun in the idea. By fun, I don’t mean comedy.
When you say a young boy hacked a successful NBFC, it sounds fun, right? What Mohanlal fans did is a crime, but we don’t see it like that. I wanted Kathalan to be seen in a similar vein. If the intention was to go dark, we would’ve gone all out and not targeted some local company named Royal Periyadan (laughs).
Yes, it was a deliberate decision to make a woman play the ethical hacker’s role. I know many such women programmers who are vastly experienced and draw huge salaries, but they’ll be casually looking after their kids and families. We won’t be able to make out their background as they don’t always fit into the typical IT employee image.
I wanted to break such misconceptions with Simi. She is also a representative of some Kerala-based free software communities like Swathanthra Malayalam Computing and Wiki Malayalam, whose contributions are not known to many. A few years back, using Malayalam on the internet was not very smooth.
But these communities have tirelessly worked towards bettering it, that too without any major profit gain. Yes, I believe I have the potential to handle some out-of-the-box ideas that most wouldn’t be keen to attempt. I think in ideas, not visuals.
So, I wish to concentrate on writing for now. I also enjoy acting, which is comfortable, less stressful, and gives easy recognition. Even when this film got delayed by almost two years, survival wasn’t a problem, thanks to my acting gigs.
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