Malayalam filmmaker-writer Shahi Kabir on his new cop drama, ‘Ronth'

The Hindu

19-06-2025

Shahi Kabir has done what he does best again — tapping into his life as a former police officer and weaving hard-hitting narratives. The recent one being Ronth, his sophomore movie as director.
A slow-burner, the story zooms into the life of two police officers, Yohannan (Dileesh Pothan) and Dinanath (Roshan Mathew), who are out on night patrol with Dinanath at the wheel, ahead of Christmas. There is a simmering tension between the two. Dinanath is an idealistic rookie while Yohannan is pragmatic and hardened by experience. As they deal with multiple cases that night, some of which leave them distraught and traumatised, they eventually strike a bond. By the time their shift ends, they are caught in a trap, leading to an inevitable climax.
Real to reel
Shahi says several incidents shown in the film have either happened to him or other police officers that he knows, with ample layers of fiction added to the storyline. 'I have done night patrolling on many occasions in my career. Also, there are shades of my character in Roshan, especially fear, apprehension, and anxiety. Yohannan has the traits of many senior officers whom I have worked with and about whom I've heard of from fellow cops.'
Having written or directed four cop dramas till now — Joseph(writer), Nayattu(writer), Ela Veezha Poonchira(director) and Officer on Duty (writer), Shahi admits that the subject is his comfort zone for the time being. 'Even though I look forward to write a different genre, the industry expects cop stories from me.' He resigned from police force a few months ago after 13 years of service. 'I was on leave for five years. With more opportunities coming in it was difficult to balance both. So I put in my papers.'
Ronth is his first film as a director and scriptwriter. His directorial debut, Ela Veezha Poonchira, was written by fellow police officers, Nidheesh G and Shaji Maraad. 'It was tough being a writer and director at the same time. If it was another person's story he would have been around to point out inconsistencies or remind me of things. Handling both roles was difficult, especially because a significant portion of the film happens at night. We had 36 days of night shoot at Iritty (in Kannur district) and some 10 to 15 kilometres around it. That was stressful enough. I wished there was a writer with me to share the load.'
Shahi points out that night shoots were equally challenging for cinematographer Manesh Madhavan, who has worked with him in Joseph and Ela Veezha Poonchira. 'It couldn't be too raw. Also, lights had to be just right. He had to find a balance between being realistic and cinematic.'
Shooting the movie in sync sound added to the difficulties. 'There were so many practical challenges, with so much noise around. The sound team (Sinoy Joseph, who did sound mixing, and Arun Asok and Sonu KP, who handled sync sound and sound design) worked so hard on this to give the best output.'
Shahi adds that he had thought about the story soon after the release of Nayattu (2021), which won him the Kerala State Film Award for Best Story. 'But due to COVID-induced restrictions, we went ahead with Ela Veezha Poonchira, since the film needed a geographically-locked setting. Otherwise Ronth would have been made back then.'
As for the cast, Shahi believes he could not have asked for a better cast. 'They are two of the best actors in the industry. Roshan is a great performer and I was confident that it will be different from what he has done so far.'
He considers Dileesh his guru, having started his career as an assistant director in the latter's directorial venture, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, which won three National awards and two State awards. 'Pothettan had once said he wanted to act in a police story written by me and that has finally happened. We have seen different shades of him as an actor. I felt that this role would benefit from his capabilities as an actor. Pothettan being a director did not come in the way while he was acting. He does not look at the monitor after his scenes, except to check continuity. Roshan is also like that. They both left it to me to judge their scenes.'
Shahi adds that he prefers his actors to improvise. 'I do not insist on dialogues being delivered the way I wrote them. Pothettan asked if he can improvise in a particular scene and the result was overwhelming.'
While he believes that Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum has the most realistic portrayal of police in Malayalam cinema, Shahi points out that the change has happened over time. 'There has been an evolution of sorts. There was a time when police characters were there just for laughs, as in the case of Adoor Bhasi, Bahadur, Indrans, Cochin Haneefa etc. Then came the stories of upright, honest police officers. After a point, police officers became the bad guys... it kept changing and we reached the stage where the portrayal became more realistic.'
Ronth is the first Malayalam production of Junglee Pictures, the renowned production and distribution house whose filmography includes Hindi films such as Dil Dhadakne Do, Talvar, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Raazi, Badhai Ho, Badhai Do, Ulajh etc. Ronth is a co production between Junglee Pictures and Festival Cinemas run by Rathish Ambat, Renjith EVM and Jojo Jose.
Apparently Shahi was chosen by the production house for their entry into Malayalam. 'I don't know how I figured in their list. And when they called me to Mumbai for narration, I was told that there was someone in their team who knew Malayalam. But that was not the case. I was in for a shock when over a dozen of them sat around a table expecting me to narrate the story. Roshan, who had already worked in Ulajh, was with me then and thankfully he took over as we had discussed Ronth a few years ago. He saved the day.'
Currently on a promotion spree for the film, Shahi observes that bringing people to theatres has become more important now. 'Commercial success is all that matters; unless a film works at the cinema, OTT platforms will not buy it.'
Meanwhile he is writing the script for two films, one directed by Rathish Ambat and other by editor Kiran Das.