The team behind the Malayalam fantasy adventure film A.R.M (Ajayante Randam Moshanam) presented insights into the film’s long creative journey and layered storytelling during a session at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Thursday. Director Jithin Laal, along with actors Tovino Thomas and Surabhi Lakshmi, discussed the film’s evolution, its metaphor-rich narrative, and the intensive preparation it required from the cast.
Reflecting on his association with the festival, Jithin said IFFI played a formative role in shaping his filmmaking outlook. “I haven’t been to a film school. IFFI was my film school,” he said, noting that returning to the festival after twelve years with his own film in the Indian Panorama felt like “completing a circle”. He described A.R.M as a fantasy drama interwoven with cultural metaphors, including themes of caste, inheritance and folklore, while remaining accessible to mainstream audiences.
Tovino, who plays three characters across three time periods, called the project the most demanding of his career. “When this came to me in 2017, I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off,” he said. He added that the challenge was not only physical transformation but capturing distinct body language and emotional rhythms for each character. Despite delays and budget hurdles, he said the film demonstrates that a work can be both festival-worthy and commercially appealing.
Surabhi Lakshmi spoke about the rigorous training she undertook, including learning Kalarippayattu, and described the on-set exchanges with Tovino as “actor-to-actor energy” that allowed both performers to disappear into their roles. She said the film’s world-building demanded intense preparation and a deep engagement with its cultural context.
The discussion also addressed the evolving landscape of Malayalam cinema. Tovino noted that a relatively small theatre-going population in Kerala limits budgets, but he said such constraints often fuel creative solutions. He added that broader national and international viewership is key to expanding the industry’s scale.
The team said A.R.M blends folklore with contemporary cinematic craft, aiming to push the boundaries of storytelling within Malayalam cinema. They told the audience that the narrative’s mythical lamp is only the beginning of a broader fantasy universe the film seeks to explore.