Alien Aliyan, the sequel of the 2019 Malayalam film Android Kunjappan Version 5.25, will be a spin-off featuring the robot, writer and director of the film, Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval, told Silverscreen India.
Android Kunjappan Version 5.25, Poduval’s directorial debut, is a satire comedy-drama that released in theatres on November 8, 2019. According to the synopsis on IMDb, the film is about “a conventional, conservative small-town villager and his son who has to move away from home due to his profession. Their relationship gets an endearing twist when an AI humanoid enters their lives and fills in their emptiness.”
On July 9, the film’s producer, Santhosh T Kuruvilla, announced the sequel on social media.
While Android Kunjappan Version 5.25 featured actors Suraj Venjaramoodu, Soubin Sahir and Shaiju Kurup in pivotal roles, the second part, Poduval said, will feature these original characters in smaller roles.
“The second part is starting from where the first ended, but not with the other characters. It is a spin-off. But it is not necessary that Suraj or Soubin will be doing major roles. They will come in guest roles. This time the story is about what happened to the robot after the incident at the end of the first film. That is the route we are taking,” he said.
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Speaking about the sequel, Poduval said, “We have just started the basic pre-production work. It is a film that requires a lengthier pre-production, than production schedule. Even Android Kunjappan took 2-3 years of pre-production work. We had to make the body of the robot and work around it. Likewise, even for the sequel, the process would be the same. There will be other characters, like Kunjappan, in the sequel. So, we need to work a little longer to prepare all that,” he said.
Poduval said that VFX (Visual Effects) work will be used more heavily in the sequel. “The second film will be more kid-friendly. Everyone can enjoy it, but it will have the feel of an animation film,” he added.
The filmmaker said that he will begin working on Alien Aliyan only after Nna Thaan Case Kodu, the upcoming film starring Kunchako Boban in the lead. “We have locked the basic idea and one-liner for Alien Aliyan. We are yet to finish the script and finalise the cast members. Before this, I also have Nna Thaan Case Kodu, for which shooting will start whenever permissions are given,” he said.