Director Dileesh Pothan talks about the inspiration to create Joji

Directed by Dileesh Pothan and written by Syam Pushkaran, Joji is produced by Bhavana Studios in association with Fahadh Faasil and Friends & Working Class Hero. This much-awaiting crime drama features Fahadh Faasil alongside Baburaj, Shammi Thilakan, Alistair Alex, and Unnimaya Prasad, Basil Joseph and Sunny PN in prominent roles.

Amazon Prime Video recently dropped the riveting trailer of Malayalam crime drama Joji and it has been receiving rave feedback from audiences across the country. Joji brings back the successful team director Dileesh Pothan, writer Syam Pushkaran and actor Fahadh Faasil! All set to premiere on April 7 on Amazon Prime Video, the plot of Joji is inspired by William Shakespeare’s popular tragedy, Macbeth.

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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.”

Watch the trailer here:

Dileesh reunited with award winning writer Syam Pushkaran for Joji, 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 that 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.”

Set in contemporary times, the movie’s story revolves around Joji, an engineering dropout and the youngest son of the rich plantation family who lives with his aspirations of becoming a super wealthy NRI. But his father sees down on him and thinks of him as nothing more than a loser. Driven by greed and blind ambition, Joji finally decides to execute his plans following an unexpected event in the family.