The thumping success of Chemmeen motivated Ismail Sait alias Babu Sait (Kanmani Films) to begin work on a new film. Like in Chemmeen , he decided to join hands with Ramu Kariat and Salil Chaudhary for his new project. Kariat selected the play Ezhurathrikal by Kaladi Gopi and decided to adapt it for the big screen. He also chose to cast newcomers for this film. Babu backed this idea.
Ezhurathrikal had as its main premise the life of itinerants. Kariat chose Ernakulam and its surrounding places as the main locations. Kariat had for some time dabbled in film journalism. During that phase he had met Jaycey, a noted writer, stage actor and film journalist. They became close friends and Kariat was a regular visitor to Jaycey’s home and office in Ernakulam.
The protagonist of Ezhurathrikal , Abu, was a crippled street singer. Kariat felt that Jaycey would be the perfect choice for this role. It was during this time that Jaycey wrote an article in which he severely criticised Chemmeen . Jaycey found nothing new in this film, which according to him was a usual love story with a tragic ending. The only noteworthy part, Jaycey wrote, was its literary aspect, of true life in the backdrop of the sea. But the film, he wrote, failed as a work of art.
This article was widely debated in film circles and Babu had also gone through it. This article was used by all those who had an axe to grind with the film. Babu was really upset about this sole voice of condemnation when the whole world was one in praising his film.
During a discussion of Ezhurathrikal , Kariat informed Babu about his choice of Jaycey for the lead role. Babu exploded in anger but Kariat very calmly told him that Jaycey matched the character perfectly. Babu, still fuming, refused to accept the explanation. He insisted that Jaycey be taken off from the film. Kariat pleaded with his producer but understood that it was in no way going to change Babu’s decision. Finally, Kariat brought out his trump card. He told Babu that he would not be part of the film if Jaycey was to be removed. This put Babu in a fix. He remained silent for a while. Babu knew that Kariat was indispensable for the new film and finally agreed to Kariat’s wishes. Jaycey was introduced as an actor in Ezhurathrikal .
Malayalam cinema has many such stories of obstinacy giving way to reason. One such incident is connected to the film Nairu Pidicha Pulivaal and music director K. Raghavan. Raghavan was invited to compose the songs by the producer of the film T.E. Vasudevan. Raghavan suggested the name of K.P. Udayabhanu among the list of singers. Vasudevan objected. He wanted A.M. Raja instead. Raghavan tried to convince Vasudevan telling him that Raja’s articulation of Malayalam was not convincing. But Vasudevan was apprehensive of having a new singer on board. Raghavan stuck to his demand for he was confident of Udayabhanu’s talent. Udayabhanu had earlier sung a few non-film songs for All India Radio, Calicut, and Raghavan who was in-charge of music at the radio station had listened to him.
With Vasudevan not in a mood to relent and Raghavan insistent that Udayabhanu be given a chance things reached a flashpoint. Finally, Raghavan told Vasudevan that he would have to look for another music director if Udayabhanu was not considered. This stumped Vasudevan and he agreed to Raghavan’s demand paving the way for Udayabhanu’s debut in playback singing.
