Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam, the Malayalam film that bagged two awards at the 51st Kerala State Film Awards, will release on SonyLIV on October 29, the makers of the film announced on social media recently.
The film, written and directed by filmmaker Senna Hegde, won the state film award in the Second Best Film and Best Story categories.
Speaking to Silverscreen India about his third directorial, Hegde, who has also written the screenplay for the film along with Sreeraj Raveendran said, “It is a comedy-drama revolving around families. It is about an engagement which has to be done immediately since the groom has to go back to a job in the Middle East. The only day they find is a Monday (Thinkalazhcha), as referred to in the title. Basically, the film deals with the whole family dynamics, relationships, love and hate,. The film happens in a span of two days and what happens in between is the essence of Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam.”
Fahadh Nandu has written the additional screenplay for the film. Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam is backed by Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah under the Pushkar Films production banner. It will be the second Malayalam film to release on SonyLIV after Kaane Kaane.
“The whole thought-process of the film started in 2019. We have had different drafts and versions since then. Since I live in a small town, most of the core incidents that happen in the film are taken from real life- incidents which have happened around me. Basically, I took that thought and cultivated the story,” said the filmmaker who hails from Kanhangad in Kerala, where the film is also set.
“Not many films have used the slang that is used here. The lingo is different. I am hoping that it will add freshness to the film,” he said. The director added that film’s cast is majorly debutants or actors who have done minor roles earlier.
“I usually sync sound, so people have to know the dialect. With no dubbing involved, we cast people locally by conducting auditions and having workshops. There are no heroes-heroines. Only family,” he said.
The film features Anagha Narayanan, Aishwarya Suresh, Ajisha Prabhakaran, Anuroop P, Arjun Ashokan, Arpith PR, Manoj KU, Ranji Kankol, Sajin Cherukayil, Sunil Surya and Unnimaya Nalappadam.
The film was shot in January 2020 in Kanhangad by Sreeraj who handled the cinematography. Shooting was wrapped up in 23 days.
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Speaking about its release, Hegde said that though the ideal situation would have been to release films in theatres, the team has opted for an OTT release since theatres in Kerala only opened on Tuesday and there are already several films awaiting release.
“There are hundred odd films waiting to be released in theatres which will be opening at 50% occupancy. Along with these films, there are many festival releases from other languages that are considered big films. We don’t have big stars and we may not get enough screens, and I won’t blame them (theatres) for it. We need to wait for four or five months to get the right time. We felt that it is too long, and luckily SonyLIV saw the film and approached us. We felt that it will be a good platform for the film,” Hegde explained.