Priyadarshan: My first attempt at directing a thriller

Priyadarshan

With his social comedy starring Akshay Kumar deferred until 2023, National Award-winning filmmaker Priyadarshan has trained his attention to his next directorial venture, a yet-untitled Malayalam thriller starring a host of newcomers. Given that his last Malayalam outing, Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea, with Mohanlal, earned him three National Awards in 2021, one would assume that Priyadarshan would join hands with the actor again for his next, but he clarifies, "This is one of those rare occasions when my thriller will not feature Mohanlal but young actors like Shane Nigam, and Arjun Ashokan, apart from a good supporting cast. This is the first time that I will produce a movie, and it is also my first stint as director of a thriller."

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While Priyadarshan knew that producers would be apprehensive about investing heavily in a Malayalam film, especially one with fresh faces, he says he had to take the plunge since the storyline won him over. The filmmaker, who also wrote the movie during the pandemic, adds, "We begin the shoot in November in a start-to-finish schedule of 45 days in Cochin. [I was inspired by the Japanese film,] Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog, but only the basic idea has been used. The rest of the story has been completely written by me. It is the story of what transpires after a young boy steals a police officer's gun."

Following this venture, he plans to "come back and try my luck in Hindi movies", given that his colleagues have highlighted that the industry is in need of the kind of humour that he can produce. As for his film with Kumar, he says, "I don't want to direct something in haste. Why should I make something which is not exciting for me, as a director? I have told Akshay the same. A movie that involves our participation has to be better than what we have made before."

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