Exclusive! Vidhi is still relevant due to the floods, ecological disasters in Kerala: Kannan Thamarakkulam

Director Kannan Thamarakkulam’s Maradu 357, which is now titled Vidhi, had attracted a lot of attention when it went on floors last year when the flats in Maradu were demolished for being built in ecologically sensitive areas. The film’s release however was delayed due to the pandemic and also because of a legal case.

While the flat demolition issue might have fallen out of public discussions, the filmmaker, however, believes that film’s core theme is pertinent.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Kannan says, “If the movie had released last year, people would have connected to the issue of flat demolitions. But the movie also talks about what’s happening in our State right now. It discusses the floods, landslides and change in the topography of our land. So, right now, it has assumed more prominence compared to the past when would have just viewed it as a story about resident complexes.”

The director goes on to say that Vidhi is not just about the demolition of a flat. “After the legal case, a lot of people think that Vidhi only talks about the flat demolition, which is not true. The film also touches upon the damage to nature and also an important issue about the life of tribal people that was much discussed. So, the flat is just a backdrop,” he says.

Kannan, who has also helmed Varaal, Udumbu and Virunnu, in the past year, also reveals that the team has now finalised November 23 as the theatrical release date for Vidhi. “People will connect it better now, because there are so many people who have lost their lives because of issues that we are trying to address through the movie,” he tells us.

While he has completed Varaal, the director is gearing up to resume shooting for Virunnu, which has Arjun Sarja in the lead. “We will begin the next schedule in Chennai on October 27,” he says.

Vidhi, meanwhile, is a multi-starrer that has Anoop Menon, Manoj K Jayan, Dharmajan Bolghatty, Sheelu Abraham, Senthil Krishna and Baiju Santosh as part of the cast.

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