Mathew Thomas and Naslen K Gafoor with the dog Neymar in a still from Neymar directed by Sudhi Maddison | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Sudhi Maddison’s directorial debut, Neymar, a breezy entertainer headlined by an indie dog, has been lapped up by the audience and Sudhi is ecstatic.

Aakamsh, aka Kunjava (Mathew Thomas) buys Neymar to impress a girl as advised by his close friend, Sinto Chackola (Naslen K Gafoor). Irked by the problems caused by Neymar, Kunjava’s father packs the dog off to Pondicherry. The friends sneak away to Pondicherry to bring Neymar back home, but they end up landing in more problems.

Sudhi says that he had planned to make a short film in 2017-18 about an indie dog and the ruckus it creates. During the lockdown, he decided to make it into a film. “The story was ready and that was when V Cinemas [producers of Neymar] was looking for a good subject. They liked my story and the project took off. Since I am not a proficient writer, I got in two others — Adarsh Sukumaran and Paulson Skaria, who have written the screenplay and dialogues. Three of us brainstormed and came up with a new second half,” he says.

Sudhi was sure that the film had to be about an indie breed. “I knew it was not going to be easy. But I wanted to do it because no one has tried it and that was the challenge. Also, I felt that our audience would relate better to an indie breed,” he explains.

Finding Neymar

But it took nearly four months for the team to identify Neymar, then a three-month-old puppy. They named him Neymar and he was trained by Parthan [A Parthasarathy]. “You can’t make an animal act. As for Neymar, he had his mood swings. It could be because of the heat or the lights on the set. So he was there on all 80 days of the shoot and when he was not cooperative, we shot other scenes to save time. Things would get difficult when he sensed the presence of a female dog. But that came in handy while shooting a sequence featuring a running competition. Neymar loves chicken and that was his reward for every good shot he gave!” Sudhi says.

Regarding the name Neymar, Sudhi admits that he is a huge fan of the Brazil football team and their captain Neymar [Jr]. “He is an energetic, vibrant player and our Neymar has those traits. Also, football is a significant part of the narrative since it is the conflict between Brazilian and Argentinian fans that takes the story forward,” Sudhi explains.

Sudhi points out that he wanted the Mathew-Naslen combo because they make a hit pair and their chemistry was needed for the film. Roping in popular Tamil actor Yog Japee for a key role [Gabriel] was a deliberate move. “The story required a Tamil actor and instead of a popular face, we wanted a proficient artiste who is not familiar to our audience,” Sudhi says. Members of Nakkalites, a popular content creator in Tamil, are also in the cast.

Talking about the senior brigade comprising Vijayaraghavan, Johny Antony and Shammi Thilakan, Sudhi says, “I love films where senior actors do massy scenes. I wanted that feel in my film as well and that’s why we have the fight sequence. Kuttettan (Vijayaraghavan), who is 72, and Shammi chettan were doing stunts after so many years. And it was a first for Johny chettan.”

A graduate in copywriting and journalism, Sudhi is a self-taught editor. He started as an assistant editor in Jilla, have worked in films such as Guppy and Happy Wedding, and became an independent editor with Kamuki. “By then I had developed a passion for direction. While looking for opportunities I met Tharun Moorthy, who was also planning to turn filmmaker. Our deal was that whoever gets the break would involve the other one in the project. So when he debuted first with Operation Java (2021), he took me on board as the co-director,” Sudhi says.

Now that Neymar is having a good run at the theatres for the third week, Sudhi is “happy that Neymar has worked with families and children. That was what we aimed at. When we went for promotions with Neymar, children want to take him home. A lady turned up saying Neymar reminded her of a pet she had,” he says.