Mammootty decided to produce Streetlights after being impressed by the screenplay: Director Shamdat

Mammootty’s next release will be Streetlights, a crime thriller in which the megastar plays the role of an investigative officer. Veteran cinematographer Shamdat Sainudeen his making his directorial debut with this movie. It is being made as a Tamil-Malayalam bilingual and Mammootty himself is producing both the versions under his banner Playhouse Pictures.

The team wrapped the shoot of both the Malayalam and Tamil version in just 35 days time. The first look posters of the movie was released recently in which Mammootty looked stylish as ever. In a recent interview to DC, Shamdat opened up on how his debut directorial actually happened.

Shamdat wanted Mammootty to star in his maiden directorial and approached him. After listening to the narration Mammootty asked how soon could he start the project. The megastar was so impressed with the screenplay that he himself decided to produce it in both the languages.

Shamdat is a popular cameraman who was worked in several films across all four South Indian languages. Some of his notable works include Ritu, Seniors, Uttama Villain. He is also the DOP in Kamal Haasan’s upcoming magnum opus Vishwaroopam 2.

Unlike most bilinguals, Streetlights was shot separately in both languages with different set of actors. The Malayalam verison stars Joy Mathew, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Neena Kurup, Lijomol Jose, Sohan Seenulal, Indrans, Sudhi Koppa and Harish Kanaran among others.

Veteran actor Pandiarajan, Prithvi Rajan, Manobala, Black Pandi, Motta Rajendran and some other noted supporting actors feature in the Tamil version. The movie doesn’t have a heroine as such, as it is a tale of many characters.

Newcomer Fawaz Muhammed has scripted the movie. Iyobinte Pusthakam fame Yakzan Pereira and Neha Nair are handling the background score and debutant Adarsh Abraham has composed the songs. Director Shamdat’s brother Sadat Sainudeen has cranked the camera.

The movie is slated as a November release but an official announcement regarding the exact release date is still awaited.