GOING UP NORTH

Director Mathukutty Xavier is making his Hindi-language debut with Mili, a re-rendering of his Malayalam hit, Helen

- Karishma Upadhyay

After Mathukutty Xavier quit his well-paying job as a graphic designer, he wrote several scripts and pitched them to the biggest male actors in the Malayalam film industry.

"Sometimes, they just weren't interested, but even when they were, I'd be told that they can start my film only after a year or two," he says. Xavier and his scriptwriting partner, Alfred Kurian Joseph, then moved to "Plan B"-to write a fresh story with a woman at the centre.