Neelavelicham: Tovino Thomas, Rima Kallingal’s period drama to be an Eid release

Neelavelicham, which has Tovino Thomas and Rima Kallingal in the lead, is helmed by Aashiq Abu

Rima Kallingal and Tovino Thomas in stills from Neelavelicham

After over a year since his previous collaboration with Tovino Thomas, Naradhan, hit theatres, director Aashiq Abu has announced the release date of his upcoming period horror-drama titled Neelavelicham.

The movie, which is based on Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s eponymous story, is set in the 1960s and also has Rima Kallingal, Shine Tom Chacko, Roshan Mathew and Abhiram Radhakrishnan in pivotal roles.

Also read: Exclusive! Tovino Thomas: Being an ardent Vaikom Muhammed Basheer fan, it’s a blessing to work in Neelavelicham

Basheer’s Neelavelicham had also served as the story for Bhargavi Nilayam, which had been released 59 years ago. The film had Madhu, Vijaya Nirmala and Prem Nazir in the lead. Similar roles will be essayed by Tovino, Rima and Roshan in the upcoming movie, which also has Shine Tom Chacko.

The makers announced that the movie will hit theatres worldwide on April 21, making it an Eid release. Neelavelicham is expected to clash with Soubin Shahir and Binu Pappu’s Ayalvaashi, which is helmed by Irshad Parari, as well as Basil Joseph’s Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham that will also release during Eid.

Also read: Exclusive! Roshan Mathew: I’d never done anything like Neelavelicham before, I had to go with my gut instinct

April is already set to be a crowded season for movies with both Vishu and Eid falling back-to-back and a slew of releases lined up. Tovino is expected to also have another release in the month with Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018, which is based on the 2018 Kerala floods and is a multi-starrer, also featuring Vineeth Sreenivasan, Asif Ali, Lal, Narain, Aparna Balamurali and Tanvi Ram. Tovino is rumoured to be playing a soldier in the film, which is expected to hit theatres a week ahead of Neelavelicham’s release.

While 2018 will have him in an extended cameo, Neelavelicham has the actor essaying the role of a writer, shaped after Vaikom Mohammed Basheer. In an earlier interview with us, Tovino said, “As part of Neelavelicham, I revisited as well as read a few more of his books, and my respect and admiration for him grew further.” Tovino is currently shooting for Anveshippin Kandethum in Kalpetta.

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