Sairam Shankar (Puri Jagannadh's younger brother) headlines the upcoming release Oka Pathakam Prakaram, a thriller that is heading to theatres on February 7. Sri Lakshmi Films is distributing the movie. Starring Ashima Narwal as the heroine, the film also features Shruti Sodhi, Samuthrakhani, Kalabhavan Mani, Ravi Pachamuthu, Bhanu Sri, and Pallavi Gowda. With the cinematography by Rajeev Ravi, Vinodillampally, and Suresh Rajan, the film has music by Rahul Raj. Gopi Sundar has taken care of background music.
In this interview, Sai Ram Shankar talks about the movie's highlights.
I will be seen as a criminal lawyer in Oka Pathakam Prakaram. As the story advances, he makes the viewer wonder what his true motives are. Is he virtuous? Is he a person with criminal tendencies? The suspense lingers on. This is not to say that the film is a full-on crime thriller. There is a romantic story intertwined with the crime angle.
I like to prepare for the roles I play. For the character of a criminal lawyer in this film, I did workshops. I mentally trained myself for a month before the shoot began.
In murder mysteries and crime thrillers, the phrase 'oka pathakam prakaram' is deployed by one or the other character regularly. We found the phrase interesting and apt for the story of our movie, wherein almost all characters have their motives, machinations and strategems at play. Recently, my brother watched the movie. He liked the screenplay. He also learned about the cash prize contest.
We have challenged the audience to identify the antagonist after the interval and before the second half begins. The winners will be rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 10,000. We will zero in on 50 winners. The response to the contest has been awesome. The contest has helped a great deal in taking the movie to the audience. It was suggested by those who got to watch Oka Pathakam Prakaram early on.
This is my first genre-based suspense thriller in my career.
Director-producer Vinod Vijayan has been a good friend of mine for nearly two decades. He has previously produced movies with Fahadh Faasil and others in Malayalam. We had been planning to collaborate on a movie for long. Oka Pathakam Prakaram fulfils our wish. Vinod is extremely talented. He wielded the megaphone for the first time when he was in his late teens. His command over the filmmaking craft is awesome. I am also happy to have got to work with a directorial and acting talent like Samuthirakani garu.
The climax of Oka Pathakam Prakaram was not easy to be executed. As many as twenty-five dogs had to be brought in for a shot. There was the danger of dogs going out of control. One dog actually did. I had to rush out in search of safety. The climax was shot twice to ensure quality output.
While Vinod Vijayan is a Malayalam filmmaker, the sensibilities of Oka Pathakam Prakaram have been designed to suit the Telugu audience. The fights, and the screenplay have been designed to keep the Telugu viewer engaged. While our movie is coming out on February 7 alongside Thandel, I don't see any competition. Both movies are going to co-exist.
I am currently associated with a project titled Resound. I am also doing a web series with a mythological subtext. I will be seen as an old man in it. I am glad that producers want to team up with me.
