Aashiq Abu and Tovino Thomas, who recently joined hands for Neelavelicham, have done three films together. And one of their most loved films remains to be romantic-thriller Mayaanadhi (2017). Written by Syam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair, and produced by Amal Neerad, Mayaanadhi follows the tumultuous relationship between John “Maathan” Mathew (Tovino) and Aparna “Appu” Ravi (played by Aishwarya Lekshmi). While lauded for its exploration of crime, sexuality, and the film industry, the film is still spoken about over its open-ended climax.
When asked about his theory on Appu’s life after the events of the film, Aashiq Abu says that he hasn’t really given thought to it. “The beauty is in what the viewers think of it,” he says. Tovino Thomas acknowledges the role of the audience in receiving the ending. “They have also thought of it and there are many write-ups on it,” he says, “I understood how much the fans loved these characters. I once got interviewed by a reporter who had watched the movie. She had called me for an interview after watching the film. She then watched the film once again and in that version, she expressed how she wished Mathan had escaped that gunshot and swam across the river.”
“Now it is their film and we should not restrict what they want to think about the film,” says Abu, “We have to move on once a movie is over. I have come across interpretations we hadn't even thought about. We have even come across people who understood exactly how we had thought the scene to be. There are people who liked and disliked the film and its ending. But once the movie is over, it is no longer any of ours.”
Comparing the response to Mayaanadhi’s climax to that of Mohanlal’s Chithram, he said, “We have all hoped for Soman to let go of Lalettan in the climax, didn’t we? All we wanted was for him to somehow escape. The same thing happened to Mayaanadhi”.
The duo also revealed that they had not decided whether Maathan should be warned of the ending. Aashiq says, “The climax was decided only the night before shooting. Even Amal Neerad realised we had changed the ending at the last moment.”