Enkilum Chandrike is a light-hearted comedy, says its director Adithyan Chandrashekar

Enkilum Chandrike features the in-form trio of Suraj Venjarmoodu, Saiju Kurup and Basil Joseph

Adithyan Chandrashekar may have achieved a casting coup when he got Suraj Venjarmoodu, Basil Joseph and Saiju Kurup for his debut feature film, Enkilum Chandrike, but the 28-year-old mechanical engineer-turned-director wondered if he would be able to call the shots on the sets while working with such experienced stars.

“While working on web series, I had the liberty to demand what I wanted from my actors. I was worried whether I could do the same with these actors,” he says.

Adithya had earlier worked on web series with the Kariku team and also produced a series of Youtube content. Karikku Fliq’s YouTube series  Rock Paper Scissors, a thriller directed by him, had narrated the story of three women staying together in an apartment in Kochi and trying to balance their lives while living away from home.

Working with the experienced film actors, he says, put him on a learning curve. “They were open to my suggestions and cooperative. The fact that they trusted me was overwhelming for a new feature film director like me. We had a wonderful time on the sets,” says Adithyan.

After a fairly long break, Enkilum Chandrike has Suraj in a light-hearted film with dollops of humour. “For some time now, we have only seen Suraj ettan in serious roles. In this, we will see him again in a comedy,” says the director.

Adithyan says that as soon as Suraj read the script written by him and Arjun Narayanan, the actor agreed to be in the film. The scenarists worked for more than 18 months on the script before they locked in on the final script.

“The film revolves around an imaginary rural place called Koodanthonda, a club in that village and and a series of incidents that revolve around the marriage of the lead character Chandrika, played by Niranjana Anoop. It’s a feel-good film,” adds Adithyan. Tanvi Ram and Abhiram Ramakrishnan are also in the cast.