Valatty release postponed, Soubin Shahir and Roshan Mathew's film to hit theatres on this date

Malayalam movie Valatty: The Tale of Tails is the latest film to push its theatrical release this month, owing to the heavy rains in Kerala. The film, as claimed by the makers, is an unique attempt in Indian cinema as it has real dogs essaying its main characters, with popular actors such as Roshan Mathew and Soubin Shahir lending their voices.

Though the movie was initially set to hit theatres on July 14, the film's producer Vijay Babu has confirmed that the movie has now been pushed to July 21. Incidentally, Kunchacko Boban's Padmini, which was also postponed, could hit theatres on the same date. 

The trailer and teaser of Valatty, which hinted at a heart-warming story involving the canines dogs, had won a lot of attention on social media. The movie cleared the CBFC earlier with a U certificate. Vijay Babu had previously said that the movie is the most challenging project that his production house Friday Films, which also backed Angamaly Diaries and Phillips and the Monkey Pen, had taken up. The production of the movie itseld lasted three years.

“The filmmaking process of Valatty was quite distinctive and interesting,” said director Devan, in a recent video shared by the team on social media. The director said he was clear about the size, breed and colour of the dogs even before the shooting. Puppies were bought at a young age and were trained for the film. 

As part of preparations, the production team also went to the extent of creating a dog park on the set and conducted training sessions for the canines, aligning their behaviours with the script. Dummy cameras and equipment were utilised to familiarise the dogs with the shooting process. Also, the dogs were taken to public spaces, so they can get used to crowds, as per the makers.

The shooting of the movie was affected by the pandemic several times. Devan revealed that their initial plan involved shooting scenes using mobile cameras. The purpose was to present this footage to the producer to get his approval. 

Actors such as Ranjini Haridas, Indrans, Aju Varghese and Sunny Wayne have also lent their voices to the dogs and other animals in Valatty. Devan, who is making his directorial debut with the film, is the son of director Jayan Mulangad, who had produced movies in the early 90s and helmed Hello Namaste. Vishnu Panicker is the film's cinematographer and Ayoob Khan is its editor.