Mollywood actor Nivin Pauly’s upcoming film Padavettu holds a special place in the heart of Liju Krishna, who is directing the film. Padavettu is Liju’s debut as a director, and he has penned the script for the project as well. Recently, the director shared that the film was shot in his native village of Maloor in Kannur, Kerala. Liju’s reconnection with his roots doesn’t end there— nearly a thousand people from Maloor were recruited to act in Padavettu.
He recently revealed that everyone involved in the project received a six-month crash course in acting before shooting began. “We found people who are apt for our characters and then started giving them training. Once every two weeks, we used to gather around a campfire and have interactive sessions, improvisations and a bit of cinema theory classes,” Liju shared. He also said that he had left his village many years ago in order to do his higher studies, and recently reconnected with his people to do this film.
Padavettu is bankrolled by actor Sunny Wayne under his banner Sunny Wayne Productions. Liju and Sunny had previously worked together in the play Moment Just Before Death, which was produced and directed by the two, respectively. Aditi Balan, who made her critically acclaimed debut with the Tamil movie Aruvi, will star opposite Nivin Pauly in Padavettu. This film marks her Mollywood debut. Manju Warrier is also a part of this project.
The director revealed that the Maloor natives who are part of Padavettu were recently brought down to Kochi to complete the dubbing. Sreedevi Mathery, a Thozhilurappu worker and Maloor native, stars in an important role in the film.
Meanwhile, Nivin Pauly is currently busy with his other project, Kanakam Kamini Kalaham, directed by Android Kunjappan fame director Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval. Besides playing the lead role in Kanakam Kamini Kalaham, Nivin is producing the film under his banner Pauly Jr Pictures. This film will reportedly have a satirical approach, bordering on the thriller genre. According to the director, the star cast will be very minimal and an announcement on the same will be made soon. Ratheesh added that the film will be shot in Idukki and Ernakulam, and in keeping with COVID-19 safety precautions and guidelines.
Further, the Nivin Pauly has been signed on to star in Bismi Special, directed by Rajesh Ravi. Aishwarya Lekshmi has been roped in to play the female lead in it. His other film in the pipeline is Gangster of Mundanmala. The film, directed by newbie Ronnie Manuel Joseph, is written by Aneesh Rajasekharan and director Ronnie. Justin Varghese has been roped in to compose the tunes. Reports are that Aishwarya Lekshmi has been roped in for this film as well. Besides these films, Nivin Pauly also has Thuramukham, which awaits release.
(Content provided by DIgital Native)