Nivin Pauly and Tovino Thomas to play historic figures
Malayalam cinema is going through a great phase as the market of our films have evidently widened and new talents are storming the scene every Friday. Inspired by the success of movies like Baahubali and our own Pulimurugan, filmmakers are showing interest in making big budget movies.
Post the record-breaking success of the Baahubali series, there seems to be a special liking for period films in industries all across the country. Malayalam cinema also has a fair share of such films under the planning stages. Two of the most promising actors of this generation-Nivin Pauly and Tovino Thomas have already signed on to play historical figures.
Nivin Pauly, the more established actor among the two, is playing the role of Kayamkulam Kochunni in the upcoming movie of the same name directed by Roshan Andrews. Kayamkulam Kochunni is a famous rebel who has the image of an Indian Robinhood. The movie is being written by the National award winning duo of Bobby and Sanjay. They did extensive research works for over two years to script this film.
Nivin will be undergoing a complete makeover along with training in Kalaripayattu for playing the role of Kochunni. The movie will explore several unknown aspects of Kochunni’s life from how he became a rebel to his love life. Amala Paul has been roped in to play the female lead. This big budget venture is being produced by Sri Gokulam Films. Shoot for the movie will kick-start on the first week of September in Sri Lanka.
Tovino Thomas is essaying the role of Puthumana Panicker in the forthcoming movie titled as Chengazhi Nambiar. This period epic drama is written and directed by debutant Sidhil Subramanian. The movie will be based on the lives of Chengazhi Nambiar, Chandroth Panicker and many other historical figures who fought against Samoothiri in Maamaankam in 1505 AD.
The team has not yet released details about other cast members eventhough there are reports about leading stars from other industries being part of this movie. Chengazhi Nambiar is planned to be made as a multilingual on a massive budget of Rs 100 crores. Currently the pre-production works are progressing. Sources inform that the movie requires a lot of research works, so the pre-production itself will take around one year and the movie will go on floors only by 2018.
