Asif Ali: Nivin Pauly’s Mahaveeryar cannot be placed in any genre, it’s a pure Abrid Shine film

Director Abrid Shine has always managed to surprise the audience with his movies. Right from his debut film 1983, the filmmaker has kept pushing boundaries in terms of storytelling, and his latest venture, Mahaveeryar that has Nivin Pauly and Asif Ali in the lead, promises to be no different.

The team on Wednesday had announced that the first look poster of the movie, which completed shooting in March 2021, will be released on February 11. Mahaveeryar, which was also shot in Rajasthan, has an ensemble cast also featuring Kannada actress Shanvi Srivasthava, Lal, Mallika Sukumaran, Lalu Alex, Sudheer Karamana, Major Ravi and Krishnaprasad.

The film also marks the reunion of Nivin and Asif, who had earlier worked together in Traffic and Sevenes a decade ago. In an earlier interview with OTTplay, Asif said what excited him the most about the Abrid Shine directorial was working with the Premam actor.

Asif said that while shooting for the movie, for about 45-60 days, he felt he was working with a friend and a partner in crime, compared to his other usual co-actors, who are either older or younger than him. On the movie, the actor said, “The film, Mahaveeryar, cannot be placed in any genre. It’s a pure Abrid Shine movie; it’s got an out-of-the-box concept.”

Incidentally, Mahaveeryar marks the second Abrid Shine directorial that Nivin is producing after Action Hero Biju. While Nivin ha d also backed Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham during the pandemic that was released on Disney+ Hotstar last year, the release platform and date of this movie is yet to be announced. Nivin, though, also has Liju Krishna’s Padavettu set for a theatrical release in March.

Incidentally, Mahaveeryar was Asif’s second recent venture set in Rajasthan. The actor had also shot for Rajeev Ravi’s crime thriller Kuttavum Shikshayum in the State. The movie is also set to release soon.

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