Manu Ashokan on Eyes: Don't call stalking love, and why Dev Mohan's Sajin is a district collector

Director Manu Ashokan says the central message of his SonyLIV series Eyes is simple: stalking and possessiveness should not be mistaken for love. In a recent interview, he said, "Don't call it love or romanticise it."

The Uyare director said technology, policing and systemic reforms can all help, but real change has to start at home, in how we raise and treat men and women. He also wants the series to question the mindset of people who behave this way, alongside showing the harm done to those they target.

A task force that doesn't exist

Eyes follows a task force that identifies potential stalkers and steps in before their behaviour escalates. Manu said no such unit exists in reality. He described it as the series' dream and a request to the authorities to build something like it, even if he is unsure such software is practical.

Why Sajin is a collector

Manu said he made Dev Mohan's Sajin a district collector on purpose. He had been bothered by films that show such abusers as poor or uneducated men, and wanted to show that manipulation and control cut across every class, including people in powerful positions. Sajin is not based on any real collector, he added.

Sajin's wife Shobitha, played by Saniya Iyappan, first reads his behaviour as excessive love. Manu said her track shows that control can exist between a husband and wife under one roof, as much as between people who are dating.

Messages from viewers

He said several women in their early twenties have written to him after watching the series, saying it made them look back at past relationships and recognise behaviour they had once accepted.

His favourite scene, for now, is a team argument in which Shruti Ramachandran's Vidya tells Kani Kusruti's Tina that she is not a criminal.

Also read: Eyes actor Prabhu Muralikrishna on playing Constable Justin