‘This story disturbed me’: Curry & Cyanide director Christo Tomy on winning BAFTA breakthrough | Exclusive

Christo Tomy

National Film Award-winning director Christo Tomy, known for his acclaimed documentary Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case which streams on Netflix, has been selected for this year's BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) breakthrough program. He speaks exclusively to Mid-day on how paramount it is to gain international recognition, working on narratives with an emotional quotient, and more.

Christo Tomy on BAFTA breakthrough

Christo says it is a huge recognition and honour to be associated with BAFTA, and asserts that it came to him at the right time. He says, "A lot of the public only see us when the film gets released. But there is years of struggle before it, years of preparation, writing and all the process involved in filmmaking takes long years. So in that way, this is a huge recognition and it's come at the right time. I also want to take my stories to the world. I look to direct international productions. So BAFTA breakthrough project, I believe it's a step in that direction."

Over the years Christo Tomy has somehow managed to centre his films around women. While he calls it accidental by choice, the filmmaker asserts that he always questions if the narrative would be difficult for a man or woman before embarking upon it.

‘Jolly Joseph case disturbed me'

Christo, who found fame with the documentary Curry & Cyanide: The Jolly Joseph Case recalls that he did not choose the project but that it came to him as a strange coincidence. He explains, "I first heard about the story of Jolly Joseph in 2019 when my wife called me one night and told me about this breaking news about a woman allegedly killing six members of her family over 14 years. This particular story kind of disturbed me and I told my wife that I don't want to hear more about it or else I'll lose my sleep. And it's years later in 2021 that I was approached to direct this film. I thought that was a strange coincidence. But then I delved deeper into the story and I found that it's very layered and nuanced."

Going forward, Christo manifests that he wishes to collaborate with the prolific Malayalam actor Fahadh Fasil. As for Bollywood, he wants actor-couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, to be a part of his projects in the future.