Kshanikam, the upcoming Malayalam film starring Jewel Mary in the lead role, will be a feel-good melodrama, says its director Rajeev Rajendran.
The first-look poster was released on Wednesday by several artists from the Malayalam film industry, including actors Mammootty and Jayasurya, through their social media handles.
Rajeev Rajendran, who marks his directorial debut with Kshanikam, has also co-produced the film with his friends under the R-Productions Filmy banner.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, director Rajeev says, “The film reflects on two perspectives of the protagonist played by Mary. She is the mother of a young boy. While most female-oriented films only highlight the good aspects of women, we have tried to show both the right and wrongdoings of this character. After all, mistakes are bound to happen to women as well.”
The film is written by a woman and this will ensure that the male gaze is kept away, notes the director. Writer Deepthi had pitched Kshanikam’s story to Rajeev when the project that was originally meant to be his first film was temporarily halted due to the Covid-19 lockdown. “The story is inspired by some real-life incidents and it will be relatable to all households,” says Rajeev.
“Veteran filmmakers TK Rajeev Kumar and Biju Viswanath guided our team with this project,” he adds.
The film also stars actors like Nandalal Krishnamurthy, Sunilkumar A, Vishnu Mohan, Manu Prakash and Rajesh Kumar R. It will also feature newcomers such as Rupesh Raj, Rohith Nair, Austin and Hari Shankar.
The film’s shooting was completed in a single 27-day schedule between July and August this year in Thiruvananthapuram and Vagamon. “While most feature films are shot with 4K cameras, we have shot Kshanikam in 8K resolution for a high-quality output. Our film is apparently the second Indian film to be shot with this technology after the Mohanlal-starrer Villain (2017),” says the debutant director. The film has been shot by cinematographer Aravind Anil.
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The technical crew includes editor Rakesh Asoka and music composer Dr Sunil VT. Rajeev reveals that veteran singer KS Chithra has sung a lullaby that portrays the beautiful relationship between a mother and son. Another melody in the film is sung by KS Harishankar.
Kshanikam is currently in the post-production stage and the makers are planning for a direct-to OTT release around the end of October.
Meanwhile, Mary, who is known for her performances in the Malayalam films Pathemari, Ore Mukham, Njan Marykutty and the Tamil film Annadurai, has some other films in the pipeline such as Maamanithan and Paappan.