The motion poster of ‘Kaapa’, the upcoming Malayalam film starring actors Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Asif Ali and Anna Ben, was released by actors Mohanlal and Mammootty on social media on Wednesday. Kaapa will be directed by cinematographer turned director Venu.
Earlier, Silverscreen India reported that Venu was planning to rope in the four actors for his upcoming Malayalam directorial. A source close to the film’s unit told Silverscreen India that all preliminary work related to the film has been completed and that the upcoming feature will be a big-budget film.
“The team is still working on how to bring all of them together considering the date availability of the artists. We don’t expect to begin filming before the end of this year,” the source added.
Produced by Dolwin Kuriakose, Jinu V Abhraham and Dileesh Nair, Kaapa is presented under the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) writers’ union and Theatre of Dreams banners. Sanchoo J and Dileep Nath will be serving as the Production Controller and Production Designer respectively for this project.
The film’s story screenplay and dialogues are written by the author, screenwriter and filmmaker GR Indugopan. Kappa’s technical crew includes cinematographer Sanu John Varughese, editor Mahesh Narayanan and music composer Justin Varghese. The film is reportedly based on the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007, popularly known as the ‘Kaapa act’ which aims to provide for the “effective prevention and control of certain kinds of anti-social activities in the State of Kerala”.
Sharing the announcement on Twitter, on Wednesday, Prithviraj wrote that the story of Kaapa will be based out of Thiruvananthapuram.
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Kaapa will be Venu’s fourth feature directorial. Venu, who started as a cinematographer, made his directorial debut with the Manju Warrier-starrer Daya (1998). 16 years later, Venu directed his second film titled Munnariyippu, starring Mammootty. In 2018, he wrote and directed Carbon, an adventure thriller starring Fahadh Faasil and Mamta Mohandas. The film went on to win six Kerala state awards. His last work as a director was the 2021 short film Rachiyamma, starring Parvathy Thiruvothu and Asif Ali, which was part of the Malayalam anthology Aanum Pennum.
Venu, who is also a founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers, has worked as the director of photography of several classics like Aparan, Innale, Guna, and Minsara Kanavu. He has been the recipient of four National Film Awards, including three for Best Cinematography and the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director. He has also won four Kerala State Film Awards.