Avihitham director Senna Hegde: I really don't know how to get people to the theatre | Exclusive

Senna Hegde is back with yet another ‘Made in Kanhangad’ project - Avihitham, which once again takes us to the small town in north Kerala as it trains its lens on a hush-hush affair. But the Malayalam filmmaker, best known for the National Award-winning Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam, admits that it is not easy to make a small film and get people to come to theatres. Streaming is also not an up-for-grabs option either, Senna Hegde tells OTTplay during an exclusive interview, as he weighs in between commercial success and critical acclaim. Before Avihitham releases in theatres on October 10, 2025, Senna Hegde gives a sneak peek into his upcoming film, the baggage of Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam and more.

What can the audiences expect from Avihitham?

It’s a comedy drama set in a small town in northern Kerala. It is a small-budget, local-flavoured film from my hometown, Kanhangad. As you see in the trailer, there is an affair going on in the town, and they are trying to find who is behind it. That’s pretty much the story. It is more of the journey of the story, how the movie moves along and deals with that subject.

The film has a message that you will figure it out once you watch the film. I try not to give too much of a preach in my movies with little jabs of humour here and there. I just hope the comedy bits work and the audience enjoy it. And if people get something out of it, that’s the added bonus.

The title also looks interesting with A written in English like the A-rated symbol followed by Vihitham in Malayalam.

Avihitham is basically an illicit affair or immoral act. It is more of a taboo subject in our place. The movie deals with the subject and we just want to bring attention to the title. When you have adult content, the movie is A-rated. But Avihitham is not A-rated, it is a U/A 13+. So it is a family film, you can enjoy it with your kids.

Does Avihitham have more newcomers in the cast?

No, they are all not newcomers. They have all done a few films. There are 2-3 filmmakers who keep making films from Kasaragod - Ratheesh Poduval, me and there is Madanolsavam director Gireesh Gopinath who is also executive producer of this. We have a small pool from which we can pick and choose actors. Main cast for the movie is Unniraj Cheruvathoor, well-known for the Marimayam serial on Mazhavil Manorama. Then there are other actors like Ranji Kankol, who was also part of Thinkalazhcha Nischayam, and Vineeth Chakyar, who played the Arjun Reddy-like character in Super Sharanya.

The main challenge is that because my movies use sync sound, the accent is very important. So I mostly cast people from here. If you do dubbing, you can cast from anywhere. Having a grip on the language and slang is very important.

Your movies have been critically acclaimed. Between commercial success and critical acclaim?

I have not had a good run with the theatres. Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam released on OTT and was a big success. Had it released in theatre, I don’t know what would have happened. It was Corona time, OTT was easily accessible and people wanted to watch something that looked fresh and it worked. Had it come in theatre, I really don’t know if anybody would have turned up. That’s the challenge I have with Avihitham as well. I really don't know how to get people to the theatre. It doesn’t have big names, only word of mouth will work. I can do promotions and build awareness. How do you compel people to get to the theatre? Because watching movies is not an inexpensive thing either. That is the challenge for us. We have to do it. We need to have an ecosystem where all sorts of films can also exist. I don’t know how to make that happen. We just gonna keep making movies, and hope that we find a system. We have done our best and hopefully the audience will like it and people will start coming to the theatres. It’s kind of like a gamble.

Did you consider a direct-to-OTT release for Avihitham?

We don’t know if there is anything called a direct-to-OTT release anymore. Most films release in theatres and then may be based on its success, they do the purchase, that’s what I have been told. Look, I don't know much about the business side of things. I made the movie and trust my producers (E4 Experiments and Imagin Cinemas), they have been in the industry for a long time. They know the ins and outs of the business, so they are handling it. My goal was to finish the film and show it to them, and have done that. It is not easy to do a small film, it has become a big-budget, big name industry. These guys really believed in it. And because of this, we have been able to complete the film and bring it in theatres. Let’s see what happens next

Avihitham is yet another ‘Made in Kanhangad’ project. About setting your movies in Kanhangad?

The kind of movies I make, they are not very location specific. Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam can be shot anywhere in Kerala, Padmini also could have been shot anywhere but we shot it in Palakkad because everyone felt that that was the ideal location. So when I make a movie, and I am also a producer in this, I felt it was easier to make it in Kanhangad. I am from here and it is easy for me to execute the project from here. I would love to work from home and whenever that opportunity arrives, I take it up. The story of Avihitham could have been set anywhere and we decided to set it in Kanhangad because it is our home and makes it easier for us to ask for favours, there is a support system and when we are doing it in our own slang, it is even more joyful.

I also saw that you write your dialogues in English and these are later translated with the Kasaragod slang. That’s very surprising. How do you get the nuances right with such rooted flavour?

I can speak Malayalam but it is a bit of a funny Malayalam because my grammar is all wrong. There is no rule as per say. A lot of times, my thinking happens in English, and I share that with (cinematographer) Sreeraj Raveendran or in this case with Ambareesh Kalathera (who penned the Avihitham story), they translate it into Malayalam and I can read it and say if I like it or not. If I don’t feel the flow, then I ask them to change. So this is kind of a collective work. I am not very grammatically strong in Malayalam, I certainly need their help every now and then.

I give flexibility to the actors to add to their bits while saying their dialogues. There are no hard rules that it has to be exact word-for-word; they can change it up here and there. I just want the meaning to come across. So that gives them the flexibility not to worry about the dialogue and be spontaneous and deliver it in a way that is comfortable.

Only your movie Padmini breaks away from the Kanhangad milieu. The movie also had a star cast with Kunchacko Boban and three noted actresses. Still Padmini did not work in the cinemas for the larger audience, though I personally liked it. How do you look back at the film, which also ran into a controversy?

Yea, it did not do well in theatres. But it was quite appreciated and did well once it came out on OTT on Netflix. Sometimes these movies work, sometimes don’t… that’s part of the business. We make with the best of intentions. There are no hard feelings, we learn and move on. Sometimes we feel things will work a certain way and they don’t. That’s pretty much the way I look at it. About the controversy - that’s got nothing to do with me.

The National Award-winning Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam (2021) is your flagship project. Do you feel the pressure to meet those standards for every project of yours?

No. The projects that you find success with become your blueprint. Either do as good as that work or outdo it, that’s part of the film business. There is nothing you can do about it. I try to stay as present as possible. Obviously I know there is a baggage, there are some successes in the filmography and there are some failures. The idea is to stay honest in the moment and try to do the best of it. It is an opinion-based result. It is not like a sport, where you score goals or runs and you win. It is basically people’s opinions that define art. The idea is to get as many people on board the film, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. You can always look at the future and say that all it takes is one good movie to come back.

Your upcoming projects

No, nothing. This is the first time I am working with a couple of producers. I am in discussions with Sarathi (one of the Avihitham producers) to do a few more projects in the future. But nothing is finalised.

FAQs

Q. When will Avihitham release?

A. Avihitham will release in theatres on October 10, 2025. Currently, there is no word about its OTT partner.

Q. Who is the director of Avihitham?

A. The director of Avihitham is noted filmmaker Senna Hegde.