Kerala Caf is a restaurant in a railway station, somewhere, visited by people of various hues, who meet each other without knowing who the 'other' is, sometimes travelling in the same compartment in a train, but on different paths...

A medley of 10 films-in-one with a binding common theme of journey, that is Kerala Caf, a novel experiment in Malayalam cinema.

Ten directors have come together to make Kerala Caf a reality, with noted scriptwriter and director Renjith playing the anchor role of project designer and producer. The film is getting ready for release towards the end of this month.

Kerala Caf has already been invited to the Middle East International Film Festival to be held at Abu Dhabi, where it will have its world premier today, Renjith told PTI. The film has also been sent to Directorate of Film Festivals, seeking entry to the Indian Panorama at IFFI in Goa in November.

It was Renjiths idea to make a film on the journey theme, which had always been his passion. He shared it with fellow directors who came forward with 10 films of 10-12 minute duration, with the caf as the linking element in all films.

Though such 'compilation films had come out in the international circuit like Paris I love You (2006) by 20 directors on the life in the city of love and Tickets (2005) by three directors on a train travel through Italy, it is the first time such an attempt is being made in an Indian language.

Characters in all the films pass the caf at one time or the other. "The travellers are curiously bonded though they are complete strangers, caught in times of road blocks, dead ends and detours," Renjith said.

These players, experiencing crises from life changing events, transitions and unpredictable moments in their lives appear in 10 movies that make Kerala Caf. "We are thrilled by the very positive enquiries we are getting from film buffs who are eagerly waiting the movies release, Renjith said.

Some notable names in Malayalam mainstream cinema are co-operating with the film, including superhit filmmakers Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Anwar Rasheed and B Unnikrishnan. Directors of other films in the collage are Shyamaprasad, Padmakumar, Revathi, Anjali Menon, Shankar Ramakrishnan and Uday Ananthan.

Renjith said all directors who co-operated with the movie were unanimous in saying they never got such creative freedom while doing other films. "There were no strings attached."

All of them took it as a challenge to tell a story in 10 to 12 minutes. "Untold stories which they had in mind, but could not be filmed due to constraints came out spontaneously, lending flow and freshness to the movie," he said.

The directors could choose the actors, editors and music directors,as there was no compulsion from the production side, except on the commonly agreed theme of journey. Each film was shot within four to five days, Renjith said. Except Lal Jose and Shaji Kailas, all others scripted their parts in the movie. Lal Jose chose a short story by CV Sreeraman, while Shaji Kailas's piece is based on a story by Rajesh Jayaraman.Though each film in Kerala Caf has a title of its own, names of directors appear on the screen only at the end of the film with the title music.

For the actors, this was a different kind of experience, bagging roles they never expected in their careers. Mammootty acts in the Lal Jose film, while Suresh Gopi appears in the film by Shaji Kailas.

With the exception of Mohanlal and Jayaram, all main actors in Malayalam appear in one film or the other in Kerala Caf. They include Thilakan, Dileep, Prithviraj, Jayasoorya, Sreenivasan, Rahman, Jagathy Sreekumar, Siddique, Meera Nandan, Reema Kallingal, Sona Nair,Sweta Menon and Navya Nair.

Except scenes in the caf, shot by Manoj Pillai, all segments in the film have their own cinematographers also.

Persons chosen by directors edited each segment,which was later compiled by Vijay Shankar, Renjith said. "The movie in its totality reflects the cinematic impressions of contemporary directors in Kerala, Renjith said.

Renjith, a product of School of Drama, has done scripts for 13 movies, including hits like Devasuram and Aram Thampuran, before donning the director's role with Ravanaprabhu in 2001. He has since made nine feature films, earning critical appreciation and is now working on three films, two in Malayalam and one in Tamil. Lal Jose has to his credit 14 films  including the yet to be released Tamil movie Mazhai Varapoguthu, while Shaji Kailas has made 25 films, including one each in Tamil (Jana)and Telugu (Vishnu). Anwar Rasheed and Unnikrishnan are mainstream hit makers.

Shyamaprasad, one of the directors, said it was a rare delight to find a space for a short film within the framework of a feature film. Directors of all 10 films in Kerala Caf could break out of their 'comfort zones' while making it.

The segments of Revathi, who turned director with Mitr my friend and Anjali Menon, whose first film Manjadikuru was enthusiastically received, would also add attraction to the movie, besides contributions of Padmakumar, director of state award-winning film Vasthavam and debutants Shankar Ramakrishnan and Uday Ananthan.

"We all have different journeys, different paths along the way. The films in Kerala Caf put together these different perceptions, Renjith says. Life is a journey, enjoy the ride, is what Kerala Caf has to tell the audience.