For the last few days, or so a week, Abishan Jeevinth has been participating in back-to-back promotional activities for his upcoming feature, Tourist Family. With interviews on the side, events taking place and more positive buzz around the film, Abishan says it’s this moment he had been waiting for years together. Marking his directorial debut with the family drama, Abishan says it is surreal and he had to pinch himself if this is happening for real.

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“Even if there are some tiring moments, it is for this that I have worked so hard for the longest time. I am taking it as happy moments,” Abishan says. Having not assisted anyone previously, Abishan has been an avid short film director since school days and then began writing scripts.

The young filmmaker had never had the idea to make Tourist Family as his debut, but had another script which was okayed by another production house during his college final year. “But due to COVID, inevitably, many problems came, and it couldn’t be mounted. After that, the spark for this project came. I had an idea to make Thenali 2. From that, I got certain fresh elements which paved the way for Tourist Family,” Abishan adds.

Tourist Family director Abishan Jeevinth Interview

When Tourist Family was first announced, the makers released a teaser, which essentially was a scene introducing the titular protagonists: a family of four Sri Lankan Tamils who are ready to flee their country. Unlike the regular teaser, this one had a refreshing introduction to the characters and the story, resulting in good buzz for the film.

Speaking about this, Abishan mentions that while cutting a teaser is a regular method, they had wanted to set the premise in a proper fashion and introduce the characters. “I believed that if the audience could connect with these characters, then they would with the story too. My main idea was to make the characters likeable, and we worked towards that. And as we wanted, it got a good reach.”

With a quirky title like Tourist Family, Abishan gives a little more insight into the film. “They aren’t happy leaving, and there is a serious issue we have talked about. They might have many problems, and they are moving to India for a better life. But despite all these, they want to be happy. And we also have a dialogue within the film, why they are referred to as tourist family.”

Being a director also involves a lot of decision-making, and saying yes and no could become hard calls. Asked how he managed to do on the sets of Tourist Family, especially when he had not assisted before, Abishan says that he has had team management skills since childhood which came into play. “I have attended college cultural events as a student, so I began to learn how to manage people. I was also working as a teacher for a brief time, and I understood how to manage the children. I had to bend as per their needs, and the knowledge that I gathered there really helped me on the sets of Tourist Family,” he adds.

‘We wanted the vintage Simran mam, a pookie Sasikumar sir’

With Sasikumar and Simran at the forefront of Tourist Family, the filmmaker speaks about casting them. “Sasikumar sir’s characters are often rugged and valiant onscreen, but here, he is very soft, and a pookie. I found that contrast very likeable. Similarly, with Simran mam, we wanted to bring her back like in Panchathanthiram, because there is humour, and emotions. No one could have pulled off Vaaranam Aayiram like her, and with the pairing also fresh, we proceeded.”

Tourist Family seems to be light-hearted, but the director says no film can just be passed for its laughs. He adds, “There will be some drama and emotions, only with which you connect, any film would work. There is a strong emotion, but at the same time, it is not going to be hard-hitting or give you sleepless nights. There are moments that will make you cry, but it will be happy tears. This film will also talk about displacement and immigrants, but we have not broached on it so much politically, or milked it emotionally.”

Talking about his learnings from Tourist Family, Abishan says that he gathered the knowledge of what to write, keeping the practical difficulties in mind. But overall, the filmmaker says, “Before coming to the industry, I was often told to be serious or otherwise work wouldn’t happen. That we will be taken for granted. But I could not do that, and I had kept moments light-hearted. Our sets were happy and we were casual with each other. That also made me extract work easily.”

As someone who is a Gen Z generation, Abishan still reiterates that Tourist Family is a film for all generations. “I still watch old films that run on television. The emotions are constant, and I still connect with them. Tourist Family is for age groups, and everyone will enjoy the film,” he concludes.

Tourist Family hits theatres on May 1.