Mission Konkan: Odiyan director VA Shrikumar to helm a big-budget, multilingual film next

VA Shrikumar is quite a familiar name among the Malayali movie lovers. A veteran in the ad film industry, Shrikumar made his feature film debut in 2018 with the Mohanlal starrer ‘Odiyan’. The unprecedented pre-release hype and the severe backlash it received after release is still fresh among the audience. Two years after that, the director is coming back with a new film titled ‘Mission Konkan’. It will be produced under the banner of Earth and Air Films.

‘Mission Konkan’ is based on the heroic tales of Mappila Khalasis when our nation’s security was threatened. Khalasis are a group of people traditionally employed at ports and dockyards. They have a history dating back to over 2000 years. They are traditionally involved in the construction of Urus. Centuries back, the skills of the Khalasi community amazed the sailors and merchants from European and Mediterranean countries, which brought them to Beypore to buy Urus.

Khalasis mainly relied on physical strength, skill and teamwork. Huge structures like the Idukki dam, Feroke bridge, Vadakkumbadu bridge and the Mahanadi bridge in Orissa are all testimony to the amazing skills and teamwork of the Khalasi people. Most of them were also skilled divers. Their services were utilized by the Indian Railways to winch out the bogies during some of the major train accidents.

In the film, ‘Mission Konkan’, the focus will be on the backdrop of Konkan Railways. Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award winner TD Ramakrishnan, best known for his bsst-selling novels ‘Francis Itty Cora’ and ‘Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki, is scripting the film. He was also a Chief Controller of the Southern Railways.

‘Mission Konkan’ is planned as a pan-Indian film. As per the makers, leading stars from film industries across the country will be part of the cast. Hollywood-based technicians will be handling the action sequences. Shoot will be beginning from December.