PremiumElla OTT release date: When and where to watch Hindi fable fantasy led by Isha Talwar and Makarand Deshpande
The directorial debut of Roshan Fernandes, Ella follows an eight-year-old child’s efforts to keep her best friend forever, an Indian star tortoise, safe. The film is getting a direct-to-OTT release
Last Updated: 05.25 PM, May 14, 2024
Mumbai-based debutant filmmaker Roshan Fernandes presents Ella, a film he describes as a fable fantasy, led by Makarand Deshpande and Isha Talwar among others. The film, which derives its title from the fairy tale Cinderella, follows 8-year-old Ella (Saranya Sharma) from Goa, who finds an Indian star tortoise and then ends up in Mangaluru, while trying to keep her pet safe.
The film, which has music by Kantara-fame Ajaneesh Loknath, is a passion project for a bunch of youngsters, all of who worked on different departments of its making. While it was made for a theatrical release, the current trend of content consumption has convinced the team that a direct-to-OTT outing is their best option at this point. Ella will release on MX Player on May 17. Basil Alchalakkal, who directed the Raj B Shetty-led Toby, has served as associate director on the film.
“We began shooting the film in 2019 and were about 50-60% done, when the pandemic struck. Luckily, we had shot most of the portions featuring the young Ella, Saranya, so the time we lost during the lockdown and the growth spurt she had then, did not affect the film. What we were left with were some portions featuring Isha, who plays the grown up Ella,” says Roshan.
The Indian Star tortoise is one of the most trafficked exotic animals, as it is considered a lucky charm in Feng Shui. Roshan’s film is largely set in Mulki in Mangaluru, where Goan girl Ella lands up after she gets lost. The idea, says the debutant, was to make a children’s film. “I was inspired by Vishal Bharadwaj’s Makdee, Vikas Bahl and Nitesh Tiwari’s Chillar Party and Mani Ratnam’s Anjali. This was the genre I was looking at, a mystery thriller, but one meant for children. As a newbie filmmaker, with no backing, this was the best start possible,” says Roshan.