Santosh Sivan to direct a mythological film based on Lord Ayyappa
Ever since ‘Baahubali’, spectacle-heavy big scale films have been aplenty in Indian cinema. Filmmakers across the country are planning period-epic and mythological films. A handful of such projects have been announced in Malayalam as well. It now seems like Santosh Sivan is also set to direct one such biggie. The ace cinematographer-turned-filmmaker will be helming a mythological film based on Lord Ayyappa.
Gokulam Gopalan, who last produced the big budget ‘Kayamkulam Kochunni’, is producing this film as well. Pre-production works have already started and they are planning to start shooting by August this year. The producer confirmed the same in a recent interview to TOI. According to him, the film scripted by newcomer Prashanth will be based on Lord Ayyappa but told from a different perspective.
It is worth mentioning that August Cinema is also making a film on Ayyappa with Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead. The movie titled as ‘Ayyappan’ will be directed by Shankar Ramakrishnan. As per producer Shaji Nadeshan, their film will tell the authentic life story of Ayyappan. He is quoted saying, “The deity worshipped in Sabarimala is a form of Shasta; but the movie will focus on his life as a man. Ayyappan was a prince, a warrior and a revolutionary, and the research for the film has mined those stories from Pandalam palace.”
It will be really interesting to see two films being made on the same subject, that too in such quick succession. Santosh Sivan’s film has been planned as a multilingual in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. A star-studded cast is expected to be signed for the film. The makers have already had talks with maestro AR Rahman and Anushka Shetty; an official confirmation regarding the same will be made shortly.
Santosh Sivan meanwhile has another film in Malayalam coming up. Titled as ‘Jack and Jill’, the movie has Kalidas Jayaram and Manju Warrier in the leads. Shoot for the movie is currently in the final stages and is likely to hit screens by mid 2019.
