Exclusive! Tharun Moorthy: Saudi Vellakka is essentially a family drama with several characters

Director Tharun Moorthy, whose debut directorial Operation Java left an indelible mark through its filmmaking style, is all set for his second movie titled Saudi Vellakka. The team revealed the title poster of the movie through Prithviraj Sukumaran’s social media page today.

Tharun tells OTTplay, “The movie is set in Kochi, especially the coastal areas there such as Chellanam. Perumbavoor is another location. We are planning to start shooting on September 16 following all COVID protocols with a limited crew and then see how the pandemic situation pans out. The film has a lot of characters and the story, like Operation Java, will evolve through a lot of them.”

While the male leads are Lukman Avaran, Binu Pappu and Sudhi Koppa, debutante Devi Varma plays the female protagonist with Srinda and Dhanya Ananya playing pivotal roles.

Further on the genre of the movie, the filmmaker, who has also scripted the film, says, “It’s based on a crime but it’s not an investigative thriller. After Operation Java, a lot of people have asked me if this movie is a thriller. As I am not keen on repeating the same genre, I won’t be doing a thriller soon. Also, you can’t really say that Operation Java was an investigative thriller because it had satire, humour, romance and messages of social commitment. Similarly, Saudi Vellakka also has different tracks, but it’s essentially a family drama.”

Tharun also says that it’s a special film for him, as its producer Sandip Senan had agreed to back it, even before Operation Java had hit theatres earlier this year. “I met Sandipettan at a time when there was uncertainty prevailing over the release of Operation Java due to the lockdown. The movie’s distributor Harindran introduced me to him. We talked about the film and then I also told him about a couple of other ideas I had in mind. Sandipettan immediately said that he will produce this movie. At that time, he didn’t watch Operation Java; all he heard about the movie was from me or from others in the industry. So, even though I got so many offers after Java’s release, this movie is really special to me. It is like my first film,” he concludes.