Exclusive! Nivin Pauly to play the lead in Ishq director Anuraj Manohar’s next movie

Director Anuraj Manohar made quite a stellar debut with his film Ishq, which had Shane Nigam and Ann Sheethal in the lead. We now hear that the filmmaker is set to begin work on his next, which could have Nivin Pauly in the lead.

A member from the film’s cast tells OTTplay, “Anuraj’s next movie is set to go on floors by January 2022 and he is in talks with Nivin to play the lead.” An official announcement from the team is expected soon.

The filmmaker in August had announced that he had begun recce for his next film after Ishq. Anuraj had posted that “this craziness around movie making” helped many in the industry weather the pandemic and pursue their dream.

Ishq, which was critically acclaimed and was also a commercial success, is also getting a Bollywood remake with director Neeraj Pandey producing the film. Before helming Ishq, Anuraj had worked as an associate director to B Unnikrishnan, Shyamdhar and Lijo Jose Pellissery.

Nivin is expected to join the movie after he completes the shoot of Ram’s Tamil film and the remaining portions of Liju Krishna’s Padavettu, which also has Aditi Balan and Manju Warrier.

The star also has Rajeev Ravi’s Thuramukham and Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval’s Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham set for release. While the former, which is based on the chappa system that existed in the 1940s and 50s in the Cochin port, was set for a theatrical release, Ratheesh had earlier confirmed to us that Nivin, who is also co-producing Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham, is looking a direct-to-OTT release for his movie.

Nivin, meanwhile, is also set to play the lead in Thaaram, Bismi Special and Gangster of Mundanmala.

Also read: Thuramukham team releases new poster on Nivin Pauly’s birthday, labour revolution is on the cards