How did you, an army officer, become a filmmaker?
I came out of the army in 1998. After that, I was sure I wouldn't sit in an office. I came into films because of Priyadarshan, who accepted me as his friend.
There were many write-ups on me after the Sivarasan episode in newspapers like the Malayala Manorama. Mohanlal happened to read that and expressed a desire to meet me. He was shooting for Kalapani at the time. His brother-in-law Suresh Balaji took me to him. But it was Santosh Sivan who recommended my name to Rajkumar Santoshi when he was making the film Pukar. I was supposed to advise him on army matters. It was then that I realised I had some flavour for cinema. I did a bit of consultancy for many other films including those of Mani Ratnam (Kannathil Muthamittal), Kamal Haasan (Aalavandan), etc.
Eventually, I began assisting Priyadarshan in making ad films. Later, I made a children's film with Mohanlal's son as the hero, and he won the state award for acting. Shaji N Karun saw the film and told me I had a flair for directing films. That made me write the script for Keerthichakra. The film is about the buddy relationship between an army officer and his jawan, with Kashmir as the backdrop.
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