Actor Nivin Pauly is set to produce and star in the upcoming Malayalam film, Shekhara Varma Rajavu. Actors Mammootty, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Tovino Thomas, among several others, unveiled the title poster on their respective social media handles recently.
The film will be produced by Nivin under his Pauly Jr Pictures. Filmmaker Anuraj Manohar, who previously helmed the 2019 Malayalam romantic thriller Ishq, will be directing Shekhara Varma Rajavu, whose script is written by S Ranjith.
In conversation with Silverscreen India, director Anuraj says the film cannot be categorised under one particular genre. “It will deal with aspects like legal battles, character conflicts, caste-based issues, and ego complexes. The film will also have some thriller elements.”
The director tells us that writer Ranjith spent around four to five years scripting Shekhara Varma Rajavu. Anuraj himself has been involved in this project for the last two years.
“In the current socio-political scenario, this film will be relatable to all types of people,” he adds. Nivin was, in fact, cast with this in mind, reveals Anuraj. “He has a fan base among all groups of audiences, including families. We thought that through him, we could reach a wider audience. Besides, Nivin has not done this type of character in the recent past.”
As for the rest of the cast, the director adds, “We have told the story to a bunch of actors. We will be finalising the cast in the coming days.”
The film is expected to go on floors by the end of March 2022 in Pattambi, Kerala. “We have completed pre-production works like location recce. In the next stage, we will be starting work on the art and shot divisions,” says Anuraj.
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“Music composer Jakes Bejoy and editor Kiran Das, who worked on my previous film Ishq, will be part of Shekhara Varma Rajavu’s technical crew as well,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Nivin, who was last seen in Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham, which is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, is awaiting the release of Thuramukham. The actor also has a slew of other films in the pipeline, including Padavettu, Thaaram, Bismi Special, Mahaveeryar, Gangster of Mundanmala, and an untitled Tamil-Malayalam bilingual film directed by Ram.