Vaashi, the upcoming Malayalam film led by actors Tovino Thomas and Keerthy Suresh, is a multi-genre entertainer with elements of romance, family drama, and thriller, actor-turned-director Vishnu G Raghav tells Silverscreen India.
The first look poster was released recently by the makers via social media. Produced by Keerthy’s father G Suresh Kumar, the film is presented under his Revathy Kalaamandhir banner. Vaashi is co-produced by Keerthy’s mother Menaka Suresh and elder sister Revathy Suresh.
Speaking about his directorial debut, Vishnu says, “Vaashi has various meanings, such as ego, stubbornness, persistence, obstinacy. The film is also part courtroom drama with Keerthy and Tovino playing opposing lawyers in a case.”
Vaashi first poster
The film was first announced in January 2021. Referring to the poster that was released then, Vishnu says that the entire theme of the film is shown in it. He has also written the script, based on a story told him by lawyer Janiz Chacko Simon. “Someone from the industry had connected me with the lawyer who provided me with a brief one-liner. I had a really tough time penning the script because this profession is entirely new to me, and it took me about three years to complete it. I roamed around to get contacts of lawyers, travelled for hours to talk to them and figure out how my characters would talk,” he adds.
Vishnu mentions that he had started working on the script in 2017 and finished a draft by 2018. “I lost count of the number of drafts after writing around 16-17 of them. By December 2018, I moved on to another project. When that was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I revisited Vaashi and completed it,” Vishnu explains.
He also notes that the film is inspired by several true events. “Every person who watches the film will relate to what it speaks about from their perspective,” he adds.
The film was shot completely in Trivandrum by Neil D Cunha, starting in November 2021, and was wrapped up by January 2022. The dubbing is currently in process.
Talking about the casting of the leads, who are collaborating for the first time, the director says, “This film requires romance and the entire story hangs on these two characters. Their likeability is a huge factor for this film to work. I also thought Keerthy and Tovi’s mannerisms would suit the film.”
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“I have known Tovi for 10 years and he was an assistant director for a film that I had acted in, several years back. We have known each other since before he began acting. Meanwhile, Keerthy is my childhood friend. I had approached Tovi in 2017, soon after the first draft was written. After several more drafts, I pitched the story to Keerthy and she came on board. I went back to Tovi again with the revised script and he also agreed to be a part of the film.”
Vaashi also features Anagha Narayanan, Anu Mohan, Baiju and Suresh Kumar, among others. Kailas Menon has composed all three songs in the film, with Yakson and Neha working on the background score. Arju Benn is the film’s editor.
Vishnu says that the makers are looking for a theatrical release in the summer. The director also reveals that he is currently working on a romantic comedy script.