Jis Joy the beloved Malayalam director known for his minimalistic yet impactful films, recently shared an interesting story about his 2013 film Bicycle Thieves. According to Jis, he initially approached Dulquer Salmaan for the lead role, but the actor declined it.
Jis explained that the story of Bicycle Thieves was originally pitched to Dulquer, but after hearing it, he chose not to act in the film, stating that the story didn’t work for him. “Ajith Pillai had written the story, and he sent it to me through email. It was a beautifully written paragraph describing the core elements of the film. I immediately called Ajith and told him that it was a great story and that we had a good film on our hands,” Jis said.
He went on to explain that Ajith was also working on another project at the time, Mosasila Kuthirameenukal. After finishing Bicycle Thieves, Asif Ali joined the project, and together they developed the story. “We had several twists in the plot and went to tell the story to Anto Joseph. He liked it a lot and suggested we approach Dulquer, who was shooting for Thiramala in Ernakulam at the time. He said, ‘Go to him and tell the story,’” Jis recalled.
When Jis and his team went to narrate the story, Dulquer listened carefully and said, “Normally, I can tell if a story will work or not, but in this case, I need more time to think about it.” The next day, Dulquer informed them that he would not be acting in the film but would be willing to produce it. As a result, Bicycle Thieves was made with Asif Ali in the lead role.
Jis Joy reflected on how the project turned out, and how Asif’s involvement ultimately made the film a success.
