Roy, the upcoming Malayalam film starring actor Suraj Venjaramoodu, is a family-oriented mystery thriller, director Sunil Ibrahim told Silverscreen India.
The film’s first song ‘Arikin Arikil’, sung by Sithara Krishnakumar, Sooraj Santhosh and composed by Munna PM, was released on Friday.
Roy is produced by Sajeesh Manjeri and Sanoob K Yousef with Zakir Manoli serving as the executive producer. The film also features actors Shine Tom Chacko Sija Rose George, Jins Baskar and VK Sreeraman, among others in pivotal roles.
In conversation with Silverscreen India, Sunil said that Suraj plays the titular role and Sija plays the role of Roy’s wife, Teena. The story revolves around a series of events that unfold when Teena’s favourite author, played by Sreeraman, goes missing. The film also includes a parallel police investigation headed by a city inspector (played by Shine Tom Chacko).
“Unlike the fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thrillers, Roy has some mystery elements that are weaved into the story itself to incite curiosity and thrill among the audience,” said Sunil.
Speaking about Suraj’s character, Roy, Sunil said “We had done some reading and research to design the titular character, as the role demanded some peculiar traits.”
About the genesis of the story and making the film, Sunil, who is known for directing thriller films like Chapters, Arikil Oraal and Y, said that he got the idea for Roy‘s story in 2017 while he was working on Y. A one-liner was developed into a full-fledged script between 2018 and 2019, said Sunil.
“We were ready to kick start this project in early 2020 however, we had to postpone the shoot in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Later, when lockdown restrictions were relaxed after the first wave of the infection, we managed to shoot the film between September and October in Ernakulam and Idukki districts,” Sunil added.
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Sunil said that the audience, recently, has started accepting “different types of content”, especially thriller genre films. “I feel there is a lot of scope to experiment with different ideas today as the audience is open to viewing all types of films,” he said.
According to Sunil, the initial plan was to release Roy in the theatres but due to the prevailing uncertainty, they are now looking for a direct-to-OTT release.
“We have started discussions with a few OTT platforms. I am happy and positive about the boom of the OTT industry. Roy is a film that is not confined to a space or time. So it won’t get outdated and the pan-Indian audience can connect with the film without language and culture barriers as the story can be placed in any setting,” said Sunil.