John Abraham, the actor-producer who predominantly works in the Hindi film industry, is set to make his Malayalam production debut with Mike. Starring Anaswara Rajan and debutant Ranjith Sajeev, the upcoming Malayalam film is being produced by Abraham under his JA Entertainment banner.
The actor-producer unveiled the film’s first-look poster at an event held in Kochi on Tuesday.
Mike is written by Aashiq Akbar Ali and directed by filmmaker Vishnu Sivaprasad. Vishnu previously directed the 2014 Malayalam film Beware of Dogs, while Aashiq is also working with director M Padmakumar on an upcoming project.
In conversation with Silverscreen India, scenarist Aashiq said, “Mike is a romantic film that revolves around family sentiments and friendship as well. It also discusses some politics.”
Aside from the leads, the film features actors Akshay Radhakrishnan, Abhiram Radhakrishnan and Dayyana Hameed, among several others.
Aashiq wrote the script of Mike in 2018. He revealed that the story and characters are loosely inspired by people he has met in his life. “After finishing the script, I pitched it to Vishnu. I knew his craft and filmmaking style and believed he would be the best person to helm this project.”
On the collaboration with JA entertainment, Aashiq said the team did not expect to get such a huge banner to back their film. “I believe this is the result of our hard work and dedication. One of John Abraham’s associates happened to listen to our script and he suggested it to John. They liked the fact that the film’s subject is universal and will be relatable to audiences beyond language and culture barriers. Hence, they decided to produce it.”
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The technical crew of Mike includes music composer Radhan, known for his work on Arjun Reddy, cinematographer Renadive, who has worked on films like CIA and Shylock, and National Award-winning editor Vivek Harshan.
The writer added that the film went on floors in October and is currently in production. Shoot locations include Mysuru, Alleppy, Vaikom, Kattappana, and Dharmashala.