Malayalam News

Adithattu: Film Explores Livelihood Challenges of Neendakara Fishermen Community in Kerala, Says Director Jijo Anthony

Adithattu, the upcoming Malayalam thriller film directed by Jijo Anthony was officially announced by actor Dulquer Salmaan along with a motion poster on Sunday.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Produced by Susan Joseph and Sin Treesa, Adithattu features Sunny Wayne, Shine Tom Chacko, Jaya Palan, Prashant Alexander and Sudhi Koppa in pivotal roles.

Speaking to Silverscreen India, Jijo, who previously directed Pokkiri Simon (2017) and Darvinte Parinamam (2016), said that Adithattu‘s story revolves around a few fishermen from an island in Neendakara, Kerala, who are travelling on a fishing boat.

Neendakara, a suburb located in Kerala’s Kollam district, is known for its twin harbours, Neendakara and Shakthikulangara. Marine fishing is the major activity and form of livelihood in both the villages.

Speaking about the motion poster, Jijo said that they travelled on a fishing boat themselves before designing the poster.

“We wanted to better understand the experience of fishermen. The sketch was designed by Bijoy Kottakkal and the 3D animation was done by Binosh George. Instead of a static poster, we chose to announce the film by unveiling this motion poster to provide the audience with a slice of the film’s visual experience. The film’s cinematography will be handled by Pappinu,” he added.

Adithattu, the Malayalam word, loosely translates to ‘base’ in English. “In the film’s context, the title Adithattu denotes the ‘lower strata’ in the society and the fishing community portrayed in the film falls under this stratum. Adithattu, a thriller, will also explore the problems and livelihood of the fishermen community,” Jijo said.

The film, presented by Middle March Studios and Kanayil Films has Nezer Ahemed as the music composer and Noufal Abdullah as the editor.

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When asked about the story idea for Adithattu, Jijo said that being a native of Kollam, he has grown up watching coastal communities and fisherfolk travelling in boats on the sea. “The visual always fascinated me and when I entered the cinema industry, I wanted to do a story based on Neendakara. Recently this idea was developed into a story and the script was written by Khais Millen,” said Jijo.

Jijo said that the team did their research while developing the story. “Since it is based on the fishermen community in Neendakara, we spent time with them, discussing their issues and learnt quite a bit about their lifestyle and work culture,” he added.

Speaking about the film’s shooting schedule, Jijo said “We are ready to begin shooting once the Kerala government issues orders permitting film shootings in the state.”