Malayalam short film ‘Lighter’ marks the directorial debut of composer-actor Sooraj S Kurup

Two friends, Sunny and Mathew, walk into the bar of the hotel they are staying, hoping to grab a drink late at night. The bartender, intimidated by the duo, reluctantly agrees to fix a drink and serve some food. They pass lewd comments on the waitress, making her and the bartender uncomfortable. But soon they realise that things are not what they seem to be. The chills and thrills that follow make the short film, Lighter.

The taut thriller marks the directorial debut of composer-actor Sooraj S Kurup, who also plays the bartender. The 15-minute film has been getting rave reviews since its release a few days ago.

Lighter is more like a “warm-up” towards his long-standing dream of directing a film for Sooraj, who had started his career as an assistant director in August Club before he took up audio engineering and later became a full-time composer, starting with Valleem Thetti Pulleem Thetti. Then came films such as Luca, Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho, one segment of the anthology Solo, The Great Indian Kitchen, Nizhal, Meesha and Mindiyum Paranjum.

“My dream took a backseat as I took up composing. But when my friends made movies, I used take part in the discussions and was actively involved in the execution on several occasions. Eventually I felt it is high time I took a decision. I had planned something big initially. That’s when I got this idea and shared it with my friends, which I usually do. My pals at Reel Tribe [creative and digital marketing agency which has produced the shot] got enthused and pushed me to do it.”

Regarding the theme, Sooraj stresses that he is not a fan of any particular genre. “I prefer anything that is realistic. Initially I had this story thread about two indecent friends, who set out for a late-night drink. I thought of the possibilities such a situation can throw up. In fact, whenever I travelled [he is an avid motorbike enthusiast and rider] and stayed at hotels/motels I would imagine certain scenarios that could happen there. This was one such idea. I wanted to mount it as a movie, technically and making wise.”

Sooraj admits that it is not easy to keep audience hooked to such a theme. “It is tricky. The audience is familiar with a lot of content in this genre and I could not dish out anything just for the sake of it. It could have ended up funny also! The process was a tight-rope walk,” he observes.

Talking about playing the bartender, Sooraj says that he had no plans to play the role. “I was not sure about whether I would be able to pull off the character’s makeover. But then, my friends felt that I could do it,” says Sooraj, who debuted as an actor in Sakhavu. Besides small roles in Luca, Mahaveeryar and Kung Fu Master, he did a full-length character in Innivar.

Sooraj is all praise for Jithin Puthanchery and Hrusheekesh Anilkumar who play Sunny and Mathew respectively. While Jithin is known for his roles in Tharangam, Pathinettam Padi, Santhoshathinte Onnam Rahasyam, Ajayante Randam Moshanam etc, acting is a new space for Hrushee, co-founder of Reel Tribe, who has been an RJ and an interviewer/content creator on Reel Tribe’s social media page. “There was an ease in shooting with them. They surprised me. Their real-life chemistry as friends worked on screen and they were spot on as the two characters,” Sooraj says.

He has also composed the music and did the background score of the short. “I love to work with the overall audiography of any project. In this case, I was particular about not using too much of music.”

Sooraj says that he was relieved once he got positive response from the industry and the audience. He admits being stressed about the premiere in Kochi, which had the who’s who Malayalam cinema in attendance. “Had I been a fresher in the industry things would have been different. But I have been working for over a decade and was concerned about what would they say if the film didn’t work! Thankfully I got encouraging response from all quarters.”

Before signing off, Sooraj mentions the support of his friends. “In fact, they are on a high about the success of Lighter. They genuinely wanted me to succeed. I keep making songs and leave them like that, in what they call the cemetery! Similarly, I share a lot of ideas with them, but never take the time to sit down and work on them. So they all are happy that I finally took this step.”

The short has Syamprakash MS as the DOP, while editor is Midhun Murali and sound design is by Pratheesh KR.

On the musical front, Sooraj’s last release was the Tamil single ‘Sainkalam’, an ode to old age, which he sang as well.

Lighter is streaming on YouTube