Sharan Venugopal’s debut feature film, in Malayalam, Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal (Three Sons of Narayani), captures the delicate ache of familial estrangement with a quiet intensity. The drama follows three brothers — Bhaskar (Suraj Venjaramoodu), Vishwanathan (Alencier Ley Lopez) and Sethu (Joju George) — who reunite at their ancestral home as their mother lies dying. But their homecoming isn’t one of warmth. It’s a reluctant crossing of paths, where unspoken resentments and deep-seated pain hang in the air like heavy fog. Venugopal crafted a film steeped in silences, letting emotions simmer rather than explode, allowing unspoken grievances to fester and the ache of fractured bonds to linger — all without ever slipping into melodrama.

Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal premiered theatrically in February 2025 and began streaming on Amazon Prime Video in March. In this interview, Venugopal discusses how interpersonal dynamics shape his storytelling, the subtle complexities he strives to capture on screen and the collaborative process behind bringing his vision to life.

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Dipankar Sarkar: While studying film direction at Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI) in Kolkata, were there moments that challenged your approach to filmmaking or the kind of cinema you aspired to make, and what fresh perspectives did those experiences open up for you?

Sharan Venugopal: The kind of cinema I aspire to make has been constantly evolving. Rather than being a challenge, it has been a journey of learning and unlearning. I firmly believe that SRFTI has played a major role in shaping me into the filmmaker I am today. The space, the faculty and my peers have all contributed to this growth. The evening screenings were particularly significant — discovering new filmmakers and films I could resonate with greatly influenced my filmmaking language.

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DS: Your 2019 diploma film Oru Paathiraa Swapnam Pole (Like a Midnight Dream) and your feature debut, Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal,  focus on family dynamics and are largely set within the confines of a household. What significance do these intimate spaces and relationships hold in your storytelling?

SV: The family aspect is just a coincidence, I’d say. What truly excites me is interpersonal relationships — their sheer potential for drama, even in the most mundane moments. And by that, I don’t mean just within families or households. It could be anything from friendships to workplace dynamics. Exploring these relationships, and uncovering the tensions and drama within them, is what drives me.

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DS: Oru Paathiraa Swapnam Pole won the Best Film on Family Values at the 67th National Film Awards. Did that recognition open doors to secure a producer for your feature film?

SV: To some extent, yes. Early on, the SRFTI tag and the National Award recognition helped me approach producers and actors. Since I had no prior industry experience, these credentials made pitching my idea easier. That said, I’ve also encountered people who carry a bias against the film school tag.

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DS: At one point, Sethu says, “Relationships are ephemeral.” It’s a line that seems to capture Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal’s emotional core. The story, however, largely unfolds through the eyes of the younger cousins, Athira (Garggi Ananthan) and Nikhil (Thomas Mathew), who grapple with family tensions and their unresolved feelings for each other. What drew you to explore the family’s fractures from their perspective?

SV: Familial conflicts, dysfunction and generational trauma are well-explored themes in cinema. I wanted to offer a different perspective. Athira and Nikhil are both broken in their ways, yet the way they perceive the family’s turmoil felt refreshing to me. Despite the chaos around them, there’s deep love and sensitivity in their bond. Amidst all the madness, their connection stood out as the most beautiful.

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DS: Vishwanathan (Alencier Lay Lopez) carries the weight of his father’s humiliation at the hands of an upper-caste man, yet he harbors biases toward Bhaskar’s Muslim wife. How did you approach shaping a character who has witnessed discrimination but still perpetuates it in his own way?

SV: This dichotomy runs throughout the film, most notably in Vishwanathan’s character. Having faced discrimination in his childhood, he now holds a position of power but hasn’t wielded it wisely. He, too, is a product of patriarchal conditioning. While much has been discussed about how patriarchy impacts women, it also affects men in various ways. In the scene where he speaks to his superior, his need to step away from the family to hide his vulnerability shapes his actions in the following moments.

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DS: In the song sequence “Mazhavillazhakil,” you make a striking choice by altering the aspect ratio and frame rate, momentarily breaking Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal’s visual rhythm. What inspired that decision?

SV: Altering the aspect ratio is a technique we’ve seen before, and I have been waiting for the right opportunity to try it. This felt like the perfect moment. While seeing the brothers as children adds emotional depth, the song’s placement was more of a stylistic choice. Initially, in the script, it was meant to come earlier — right after the aqueduct scene where Athira and Nikhil meet Dhanya — leading into the present-day sequence with the brothers and the lawyer. Its current placement was a decision made during editing.

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DS: George, Venjaramoodu and Lopez are among the most formidable actors in Malayalam cinema, each known for bringing remarkable depth to their characters. As a first-time filmmaker, how did you approach working with them? Did you feel the need to shape their performances in a particular direction, or did you let their instincts guide the process?

SV: I had in-depth discussions with all the actors about the narrative and their characters. The script itself provided a solid foundation, but the experience they brought to the table was invaluable. Filmmaking is inherently collaborative. There’s always a dynamic exchange of ideas between everyone involved in the process.

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DS: The gentle, sunlit textures of Koyilandi’s rural landscape contrast with the muted, intimate interiors where dramatic conflict unfolds. What was your brief to your cinematographer Appu Prabhakar for capturing this visual contrast between the openness outside and the tensions within the house?

SV: Appu was among the first few people I shared the initial draft with. Since he’s also from Kozhikode, we took trips to Koyilandi even before securing a producer, just to immerse ourselves in the space. Many of these locations hold personal significance for me, and I wanted Appu to understand the inspirations behind the writing.    

The openness in the outdoor scenes reflects Aathira and Nikhil’s perspectives, contrasting with the older generation’s confined outlook. Shooting inside the house was challenging due to its cramped spaces and multiple scenes unfolding in the same rooms. Each room was visually distinguished by mood, wall colors and the characters inhabiting them. Even within the same space, subtle shifts in camera angles and lensing marked the story’s progression.

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DS: Jayadevan Chakkadath’s audio design uses silence as powerfully as sound, letting unspoken tensions linger, while Rahul Raj’s music subtly underscores emotions without imposing them. Was this delicate balance something you envisioned from the outset, or did it emerge gradually during the filmmaking? 

SV: In my initial discussions with Jayadevan Chakkadath aka JD, he mentioned that he already had enough cues for the film’s sound design. As the shoot progressed, we discovered many subtle auditory details. I wanted the film’s restraint to be reflected in its soundscape, and JD also saw silence as a storytelling tool.

For a drama like this, designing sound is challenging since there are no grand, larger-than-life elements. Every detail — the ticking of an unseen clock, a distant train horn, footsteps, the rustle of fabric — is carefully placed. In my film school projects, I used music sparingly, but here, I wanted to experiment more. While most of the music cues were part of the screenplay, in certain segments, the decision to add a musical undertone evolved during the editing stage.

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DS: So much of Narayaneente Moonnaanmakkal hinges on what remains unsaid — in conversations, relationships and the spaces between people. Even the ending is left open. Looking back, what do you hope lingers with viewers after they’ve watched the film?

SV: A sense of calmness, a touch of melancholy perhaps and, most importantly, a need for introspection.

Dipankar Sarkar (@Dipankar_Tezpur) is a graduate in film editing from the Film and Television Institute of India and currently based in Mumbai. As a freelancer, he frequently contributes to various Indian publications on cinema-related topics.

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