Prakashan Parakkatte, the upcoming Malayalam family drama film set in Kerala’s Mukkam, will star local residents, director Shahad K Muhammad told Silverscreen India.
According to Shahad, Prakashan Parakkatte captures a slice of the life of a middle-class family in a small village. “The story will revolve around a young boy’s aspirations, his bonding with his family members and their dreams,” he said.
Prakashan Parakkatte marks the directorial debut of Shahad, who rose to fame with his short film Oppana, which released on YouTube in 2019. He has previously assisted director Dhyan Sreenivasan, who has acted in and written the screenplay of Prakashan Parakkatte.
The film’s cast includes Dileesh Pothan, Nisha Sarang, Mathew Thomas, Saiju Kurup, and Aju Varghese.
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“We shot the film in a single schedule for 30 days between January and February. Two months before the shoot, my assistants and I visited Mukkam in Calicut and set up multiple auditions to cast local people within a 10 km radius of the locality. We shortlisted around 30 of them who have a few dialogues and acting scope in the film. We took this decision as we shot the film during the pandemic and didn’t want to take the risk of bringing artists from far away places,” Shahad told Silverscreen India.
He said that casting the local residents lent authenticity to the film as their dialect and body language were organic.
Speaking about the film’s first look poster, which was released on April 16, Shahad said, “Since it is a feel-good movie, we wanted a happy picture. The first look poster should depict family bonding. Also, I believe that the old Splendour bike, which is shown in the poster, will connect with most middle-class South Indian families as it is a nostalgic household vehicle.”
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In his seven-year-long career, Shahad has assisted Dhyan in the latter’s directorial Love Action Drama and Adi Kapyare Kootamani.
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“I have been wanting to become a feature film director and had discussed a few scripts with Dhyan. When a project was just about to take off, the Covid-19 pandemic happened. It was not a film that could be made during such a time. However, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise when Dhyan reached out to me with the idea of Prakashan Parakatte in early October [2020]. We finished writing the script in a couple of months and finalised the artists in the lead roles,” he said.
Prakashan Parakkatte is one of the several films that were shot during the lockdown. Talking about the obstacles he faced, Shahad said that it was difficult to shoot as the film’s story has no reference to the pandemic.
“The story is set in the pre-Corona period so we had to ensure that even the background artists or by-passers were not wearing masks. But since it is a small film with a small crew, we were able to complete the shooting safely,” he said.
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While the film’s makers are yet to fix a release date due to the prevailing pandemic situation, they hope to release the film in theatres in June.
“There is a hint of humour that has worked well in this film and it would be apt for a theatrical release. A few moments in the film are orchestrated, keeping the theatre audience in mind. There were some on-the-spot improvisations that have added a spark to the film,” Shahad said.
The film is produced by Aju Varghese and Visakh Subramaniam under the banner Funtasic Films in association with Tinu Thomas’ Hit Makers Entertainments.
The film’s technical crew consists of Guruprasad as the cinematographer, Shaan Rahman as the music composer, and Rathin Radhakrishnan as the editor.