Exclusive! Benyamin, GR Indugopan script film on teenage infatuation featuring Malavika Mohanan, Mathew Thomas

After a hiatus, Malavika Mohanan is back in Malayalam with a coming-of-age drama that is scripted by literary heavyweights – Benyamin and GR Indugopan. The yet-to-be-titled film, which has Mathew Thomas in the lead, will be directed by debutant Alwin Henry.

In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, GR Indugopan tells us, “The film is set in Poovar, which is a tourist destination near Thiruvananthapuram. The film’s director Alwin is also from Poovar and he knows the place and its people inside out. So, the movie will capture the beauty of this place while telling the story of a teenager and his infatuation.”

While Mathew plays the role of the youngster, Malavika Mohanan will be making her Malayalam comeback after Pattam Pole and The Great Father as its female protagonist. “She plays a woman from Poovar in the film,” says Indugopan.

On working with Benyamin, Indugopan, who is also the scriptwriter of Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Kaapa and Vilayath Buddha, says, “Alwin had come up with the story of the film and both of us felt it was a beautiful tale. That’s how decided to collaborate. Also, it’s a positive aspect to have a few literary elements in a film script.”

Talking exclusively to OTTplay, Benyamin further explained how the two of the most talented authors in Malayalam decided to work together on a screenplay. “When a youngster told us this story, it appealed to both of us. Also, both of us are friends and because we are busy in other ventures, we decided to do this together. We are talking about a new geography through the film, that of Poovar.”

The movie will also mark the debut screenplay of the Aadujeevitham writer, who had won the JCB Prize for Literature in 2018. “This is a new stream for me. Scriptwriting is entirely different from writing novels and stories. So, I wanted to try my hand at that, especially with Indugopan, who has already written a few scripts, being there as support and guide,” says Benyamin.

The movie’s director Alwin had previously assisted filmmakers such as Ranjith Sankar, Salim Ahammed, Ven, Jay K and Jeethu Joseph. Joy Mathew, Vineeth Vishwam, Rajesh Madhavan, Muthumano, Veena Nair and Sminu Sijo are also part of the cast of the film, which has Anend C Chandran as its cinematographer and Govind Vasantha as the music director.

Poovar, Vizhinjam and Neyyatthinkara are the main locations of the film produced by Rocky Mountain Cinemas.