Sethu Aleena, the upcoming Malayalam film starring Indrans, Joy Mathew, Maqbool Salman and Sathi Premji, will be a feel-good family entertainer, director Abdhulla Sheikh Ajmal tells Silverscreen India. The film has been wrapped up and is in the final stages of post-production.
The film’s first-look poster was recently released by the makers on social media. Produced by Abdul Manaf Fort Kochi under the Aurora Productions banner, the film is written by Gireesh P Gopi.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Abdhulla, who makes his directorial debut with Sethu Aleena, says, “The story is told from the perspective of a child whose parents belong to two different communities. The film discusses a socially-relevant concern about family values.”
He goes on to explain, “At present, there are more nuclear families and elderly people are sent to old-age homes. This film will emphasise the importance of grandparents and the need to take care of them. Grandparents are the best gifts for a child.”
“Indrans, Sathi and Joy play the role of the grandparents in this film,” Abdhulla adds. The film also features actors Raghunath Paleri, Binny Rinky Benjamin, Anamika, Krish S Kumar, and producer Badusha NM.
Abdhulla tells us the project went on floors in 2019. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, there was a long delay in filming. After several breaks in between, the film’s shooting was finally completed in December 2021. Sethu Aleena was predominantly shot in parts of Ernakulam, Vennala, and Fort Kochi, as well as Vaikom and Thalayolaparambu in Kottayam.
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Recounting how the project was conceived, the director says, “Pursuing cinema has always been my dream. My friends and I tried to make a film, but it did not materialise. So, to keep up our spirits and stay afloat, we have been working as ad filmmakers for the last 18 years. While we were on a search for producers to back us, one of my well-wishers, Manaf, a real-estate dealer and a film enthusiast, came forward to help us. He suggested that we do a film on a small scale. We received an apt script from scenarist Gopi and that’s how this project took off.”
Abdhulla also shares that producer Manaf has decided to use the revenue from the film for charity work. “During the Covid-19 lockdown, many poor families in Fort Kochi became homeless as they were unable to pay rent due to lack of income. So, Manaf has decided to utilise the revenue from this film to buy land for 15 families,” he says.
A release date has not yet been set for Sethu Aleena.