Nna Thaan Case Kodu (Sue Me), the upcoming Malayalam film starring Kunchacko Boban and Gayathrie Shankar, is a comedy courtroom drama that also features several newcomers, filmmaker Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval tells Silverscreen India.
Produced by Santosh T Kuruvilla, the film’s first look poster was recently released by the makers via social media. Kunchacko, who was last seen in Pada, is a co-producer on the project.
Poduval, who has also written the film’s screenplay, says, “Set in Kasargod, the Malabar region of Kerala, Nna Thaan Case Kodu is the story of an incident that happens in the life of a common man and how he deals with it. The film touches upon political concerns, but we have tried to incorporate realistic, humorous elements along with hints of family drama.”
Talking about how this project took off, Poduval says that he got this idea before he began working on Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham. Nna Thaan Case Kodu was the director’s second script, after Android Kunjappan Version 5.25.
“After developing the story, I pitched it to Kunchacko. He liked it and agreed to come on board. But later, Covid-19 hit the country and we could not begin the shoot. In between, Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham happened and once the situation got better, we resumed work on Nna Thaan Case Kodu.”
Kunchacko plays a villager from Kasargod, while Gayathrie essays the role of his wife.
On experimenting with new looks for Kunchacko, Poduval notes that to bring forth the desired look for his character, they used prosthetics like an additional lower jaw and also changed his hairstyle by oiling it. The actor got a tan as well. “We did a look test before the shoot and we were all convinced with his look. We wanted him to merge with the other characters in the frame. Aside from his physical appearance, Kunchacko also talks in a Malabari dialect and has experimented with different forms of movement as well.”
Poduval tells us that Gayathrie essays a Tamil woman in the film and they wanted to cast a Tamil actor for the role. He also mentions that he liked her performances in Tamil films like Super Deluxe and Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom.
Aside from the two leads, the film also features Basil Joseph, Unnimaya Prasad, Rajesh Madhavan, and around 50 new faces.
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“We did a pre-shoot of the entire film with the cast, minus the lead actors, as a rehearsal. The newcomers are real-life lawyers and cops. We went on the streets and hand-picked them. So, we did rehearsals to understand them better and help them achieve the requirements of the script. After the shoot, we edited the footage and added music to their rehearsals to see the outcome,” Poduval says.
The filmmaker notes that these newcomers have brought a freshness to the film through their looks, performances and mannerisms. “We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves during the shoot and even the audience will experience it, when they see the film.”
The shooting for Nna Thaan Case Kodu began around the end of February and the film was wrapped up in April. The shot took around 52 days and filming locations included parts of Kasargod like Kayyur and Cheemeni.
Poduval notes that the post production will commence soon.