Malayalam filmmaker Nahas Hidhayath talks about his debut project, ‘RDX’, which is having a dream run at the box office

malayalam director nihas hidhayath talks about his debut film rdx starring shane nigam neeraj madhav and antony varghese which is having a solid run at the box office

Nahas Hidhayath has had the best Onam of his life. The debut director is on a high with his film, RDX: Robert Dony Xavier, playing to full houses across Kerala and outside the State. “When the audience burst into applause after the first day first show, it was a dream-come-true experience. My struggles became insignificant at that moment,” says Nahas, who had to shelve his first film, Aaravam, after a few days of shooting.

RDX, an action-packed entertainer with tropes to attract the family audience, arrived at theatres as an underdog, pitted against two star-driven releases – Dulquer Salmaan’s King of Kotha and Nivin Pauly’s Ramachandra Boss & Co. The film, bankrolled by Sophia Paul, and starring young guns Shane Nigam, Antony Varghese and Neeraj Madhav has clearly raced past the two biggies.

The story revolves around Robert (Shane), his elder sibling, Dony (Antony) and their friend, Xavier (Neeraj), all trained in martial arts. They have left behind their dark past to lead a peaceful life. But their lives take a turn when a bunch of criminals enter their lives.

Nahas says that there were pre-release jitters because the film was at the receiving end of cyber attacks and trolls ever since the posters, songs and trailer were released. “There was so much negativity that I was worried. But Ma’am [Sophia Paul] was unruffled by it. She said that our film would get its audience,” says Nahas.

The film ran into a controversy with reports about Shane complaining about not getting enough importance in the movie and his involvement in editing. “It happened because of some miscommunication and misunderstanding. It was blown out of proportion. I felt bad for Shane when there were reports about him using drugs and his family harassing me. None of it is true,” Nahas stresses.

Nahas had moved to Kochi from his home at Kanjirappally in Kottayam district, after graduation. “I didn’t have the courage to tell my orthodox family that I was trying to get into films. So I lied to them that I was doing a six-month course after which I would get a job. In the meantime, I was busy meeting directors while doing a small-time job to make ends meet.”

An interaction with Ganesh Raj [who went on to direct Aanandam and Pookkalam] was the turning point. “He was working with Vineeth Sreenivasan at that time. Thanks to him, I got a chance to meet Basil Joseph. But the problem was that I had not directed even a short film till then. So when chettan [Basil] asked me about that, I was stumped. I made a short within four days, with the support of my employer and friends. Basil chettan was impressed and took me in as an assistant in Godha. Otherwise, my film school has been YouTube.”