You cannot miss them in Kerala these days – migrant labourers from Bengal and other northern states who have come to the state in search of greener pastures. Director Johny Antony focusses on their lives in his new film Bhaiyya Bhaiyya . “The film is an entertainer with an accent on humour. It’s not an attempt to address migrant labourer issues in Kerala,” stresses Johny, the director of films such as CID Moosa and Thappana .
In Bhaiyya Bhaiyya Biju Menon plays the role of a Bengali who came to Kerala as a little boy, while Kunchacko Boban, with whom he has struck up a hit partnership on screen, dons the role of Bengali Babu. The latter is an agent who brings labourers from Bengal to Kerala. “Innocent stars as Bengali Babu’s father. It was he who brought Biju Menon’s character to Kerala,” says Johny. Benny P. Nayarambalam has written the script. “I was an associate director of Kunjikkoonnan , the screenplay of which was written by Benny. He had promised to write a script for me at the time, but each of us ended up being busy with other projects. Then, two years ago, we decided to team up and that was how Bhaiyya Bhaiyya was born,” says the director.
He says the film is aimed at family audiences. “A large part of the film was shot in Bengal, with artistes from Bengali cinema and theatre.” Another highlight of the film is the music by Vidyasagar. “I have been working with him since my debut film CID Moosa and we share a great working relationship,” he says. Vinod Illampally has cranked the camera. Bhaiyya Bhaiyya also marks the Malayalam debut of Nisha Agarwal, sister of actress Kajal. The film also stars Makarand Deshpande, Shammi Thilakan, Salim Kumar and Suraj Venjaramoodu.
