RJ Madonna, the upcoming Malayalam film, is a mystery drama that takes place over one day and revolves around a married woman named Madonna who is an RJ by profession, says director Anand Krishna Raj.
The film’s first look poster was released on Sunday.
Anand, who makes his directorial debut with RJ Madonna, is also the film’s producer and editor. Produced under his Hitchcock Entertainment banner, the film features Amalendu K Raj, Shresha Sharif and Anil Anto in pivotal roles.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Anand says the film’s story happens over the course of a day, when the titular character meets her former boyfriend. “She meets him at a reunion and following this, she is taken to a lonely place. The story unfolds with the mysterious events that take place during the duo’s meeting. As the title suggests, Madonna is an RJ and she is just getting ready start a career in cinema. So the story is about what happens when a popular person like her gets trapped in this situation.”
“Though it is primarily a drama, we have added thriller elements to the plot,” the director adds.
There are totally six characters in the film and most are played by newcomers, Anand tells us. He adds that the technicians on the project, like cinematographer Akhil Xavier and music composer Ramesh Krishnan, are beginners too.
Anand, who co-distributed Karthi-starrer Kaithi, says he took a filmmaking course around eight years ago and directed six short films before he decided to venture into feature films.
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On how he came to choose this film to make his debut with, the filmmaker says, “I thought a small budget film would be easy to pitch to producers as a debutant. When I completed the script last year and was ready to reach out to producers, the coronavirus lockdown was imposed. Later, I decided to produce the film myself and RJ Madonna happened to be workable project during this pandemic time.”
Anand adds that even before Covid-19, he had planned to shoot the film in limited locations. “We shot the film in two schedules in Vagamon and Ernakulam with very few crew members.”
The filmmaker reveals that the team is aiming for a direct-OTT release given the prevailing uncertainty over the reopening of theatres. “RJ Madonna is an apt subject for the OTT experience too,” he adds.
“We are currently in the post-production stage and have begun dubbing. We plan to release the film’s teaser and trailer in the coming weeks. We hope to pitch it to OTT platforms and release the film in about one-and-a-half months,” says Anand.