Dileesh Pothan gets candid about Joji; reveals 'It is not complete adaptation of Macbeth'

Helmed by Dileesh Pothan and penned by Syam Pushkaran, Joji is bankrolled by Bhavana Studios in association with Fahadh Faasil and Friends & Working-Class Hero. Joji cast includes Fahadh Faasil alongside Baburaj, Shammi Thilakan, Alistair Alex, and Unnimaya Prasad, Basil Joseph and Sunny PN in prominent roles. The much-awaited crime drama will be premiering on the online streaming site, Amazon Prime Video. The director recently opened up about the upcoming Malayalam film.

Dileesh Pothan gets candid about Joji

Speaking about the idea to make a story around Macbeth, director Dileesh said, “During the lockdown time, thoughts and discussions about the new movie were very much live. There were regulations all over and we were worried about how long the pandemic will stay and how it will affect the shooting process. We thought about the stories in confined spaces rather than on a vast canvas. Thus, theatre plays came into our reference as it uses the minimum space for storytelling. I, myself, have enacted the Banquet scene of Macbeth while studying theatre. I have read many other plays on Macbeth. The idea of Macbeth inspired us a lot. But the plot of Macbeth was vast and it had very little connection with our culture. So, we decided to think of picking the idea, leaving the plot aside and ended up with an independent plot”.

Dileesh elaborating further about the story, the director said, “Joji is not a complete adaptation of Macbeth. After the plot was formed, we completely focused on whatever is needed for the development of the plot, without bothering about the structure of Macbeth. It’s an effort to make a movie out of the inspiration we had from Macbeth”.

They recently dropped the trailer and it has been receiving positive responses from the audience. Set in contemporary times, the plot of the film is inspired by William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It revolves around the life of Joji, who is an engineering dropout and the youngest son of a rich family. He aspires to become a super-wealthy NRI, however, his father looks down on him and considers him a loser. Joji, who is driven by greed, finally decides to execute his plans which is followed by an unexpected event in the family.

Joji brings back the successful collaboration of director, Dileesh, writer, Syam and actor, Fahadh. The film will be premiering on April 7, 2021, on Amazon Prime Video. The trailer was released on April 2, 2021. It has already garnered more than 8.3 million views. Furthermore, the list of popular Dileesh Pothan's movies includes Malik, Trance, Varathan, Joseph, Moothom, Virus and many more. 

(With inputs from PR)