Makers of Tovino Thomas, Rima Kallingal’s Neelavelicham announce release date with Bhargavi’s character poster

Director Aashiq Abu’s onscreen adaptation of Vaikom Muhammed Basheer’s Neelavelicham is all set to hit theatres in December 2022, making it the filmmaker and its lead actor Tovino Thomas’ second collaboration to release this year after Naradan.

The makers took to their social media pages to announce the release date of the film, which is set in the 1960s, along with the character poster of Rima Kallingal’s Bhargavi. The movie, which also has Roshan Mathew and Shine Tom Chacko, had completed its filming in June.

Also read: Exclusive! Tovino Thomas: Being an ardent Vaikom Muhammed Basheer fan, it’s a blessing to work in Neelavelicham 

The movie is based on Basheer’s story, which was also the base material for Malayalam’s first horror film Bhargavi Nilayam, which revolved around the romance between a novelist and a ghost. The 1964 movie had Madhu essaying the role of the writer while Vijaya Nirmala played Bhargavi. Tovino and Rima will be seen playing these characters in Aashiq Abu’s version, which the filmmaker had told us will be his take on the acclaimed writer’s story.

Meanwhile, Tovino in a recent interview told OTT play that he was thrilled to play the character as he has always been an ardent fan of Basheer. “To get to play a character in a film based on his work is a huge blessing and I don’t think it’s an opportunity that a lot of people get,” he said.

The actor also said that the main challenge for him as well as the team while doing the movie was to ensure that the film connected with the new-age audience. “At the same time, when we use the old Malayalam, it shouldn’t sound odd to today’s viewers. That’s the task that Aashiq Abu the director and Hrishikesh Bhaskaran the scriptwriter had to crack for the film,” explained Tovino, who is all set for the release of Khalid Rahman’s Thallumaala next.