Nivin Pauly’s upcoming movies in 2018
After a great couple of years, Nivin Pauly hit a comparatively dull 2017 with two out of his three releases failing to click at the box office. While his highly anticipated political film Sakhavu and first straight Tamil film Richie ended as failures, the light hearted entertainer Njandukalude Naatil Oridavela emerged as a big hit. But, 2018 promises to be a stellar year for the actor as he has some huge projects coming up.
Nivin Pauly’s first release in 2018 will be Hey Jude, directed by Shyamaprasad. South Indian actress Trisha is making her Malayalam debut with this movie. Hey Jude tells the story of two oddballs and the relationship between them. Nivin plays an eccentric character in the movie and from what we got to see in the trailer, we can expect a totally different kind of performance from him. The release date has not yet been officially announced though reports suggest that it will hit screens on January 19.
Nivin is currently shooting for Kayamkulam Kochunni, which is easily the biggest film in his career. This period flick directed by Roshan Andrews is based on the life of Kochunni, a highwayman who was active in the 19th century in Travancore. Award winning writer duo Bobby-Sanjay scripted this film after doing research works for close to two years. Priya Anand plays the female lead while Sunny Wayne, Babu Antony and Priyanka Thimmesh will be seen in other significant roles. Nivin has taken a lot of efforts to play this character. He had undergone formal training in horseriding and Kalaripayattu prior to the movie’s shoot. Gokulam Gopalan of Sri Gokulam Films is producing this big budget film.
Moothon is another biggie coming up for Nivin Pauly in 2018. It is Geetu Mohandas’ maiden directorial in Malayalam and she has brought on board a renowned set of technicians for the film. Moothon is the story of a man called Mullakoya from Lakshadweep. The movie is about his journey to find his brother. ‘Moothon’ is actually an island slang for elder brother. The story of Moothon had won the global filmmaking award in Sundance film festival 2016. Geetu Mohandas’ husband and cinematographer/ filmmaker Rajeev Ravi is cranking the camera. Bollywood filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is collaborating with Geetu Mohandas in writing the Hindi dialogues. Thaikkudam Bridge fame Govind Menon is handing the music department. Eros International and Bollywood filmmaker Anand L Rai’s new production house Colour Yellow Productions are backing the project. Almsot 70% of the shoot has been completed and the final schedule is expected to resume soon.
Next year, Nivin Pauly will be teaming up with Nayanthara for the first time with ‘Love Action Drama’ (LAD), a fun entertainer which marks the directorial debut of Dhyan Sreenivasan. Aju Varghese is venturing into production by funding this movie along with Vishak Subramaniam under the banner of Funtastic Film. They are planning to start shoot by January end or the first week of February.
Another project that came as a big surprise for the audience is Nivin Pauly’s biopic on NN Pillai. Ace cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Rajeev Ravi is helming this film, which is reportedly based on NN Pillai’s autobiography Njaan. NN Pillai is a legendary drama artist and a freedom fighter. The movie will showcase his life as a young soldier alongside Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose in the Indian National Army (INA) and his days as a drama artist. According to the makers, the story spans across continents and will reflect the history of Kerala and the role of Keralites in INA. E4 Entertainment is producing this movie.
Earlier this year, Nivin had announced another ambitious project – Kairali, based on Kerala’s first ship MV Kairali, which disappeared in 1979 just off the coast of India with a crew of 49 members. One of Mollywood’s leading cinematographers, Jomon T John is turning a director with this film. National award winner Sidhartha Siva is scripting this movie which will be jointly produced by Nivin’s Pauly Jr Pictures and Real Life Works.
Apart from these aforementioned films, Nivin has also committed for a mass entertainer with ‘Pulimurugan’ director Vysakh and another one with Roshan Andrews. A Tamil film with Prabhu Radhakrishnan is also in the pipeline.
