It is a video cassette of Thriller, Michal Jackson's best-selling album of 1982. A bunch of young men are glued in front of a 1980s television watching it excitedly, head banging together. And then they are at the beach and on the stage, 'dancing dangerously'. The trailer of upcoming Malayalam film Moonwalk sets the tone of the film, based on true events of the late ‘80s.
The film, directed by AK Vinod, follows the story of "a bunch of youngsters from the backyards of a small town in India during the late ‘80s who, inspired by the Michal Jackson mania, try to emulate his style, and learn break dancing." So goes the description that comes with the trailer.
The film's music is by Prashant Pillai, known for his unique music compositions often tying up with filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery. Moonwalk -- also the name of Michael Jackson's signature dance move in which he glided backwards with his feet -- has been written by the director with Sunil Gopalakrishnan and Mathew Varghis. Cinematography is by Ansar Sha and editing by Kiran Das. The film is produced by Jasni Ahamad.
The trailer goes on to show the fights the young men get into, while also showing their dance performances. A few young women appear briefly. Most of the actors are new. Towards the end a few captions are thrown on the screen – “The story of a period, the story of youth, the story of love and revolt.”
In the 2004 movie Chathikkatha Chanthu, Salim Kumar played the character of a choreographer, who impersonated Michael Jackson, wearing clothes like him, leaving his curly long hair loose and powdering himself white. Michael Jackson has had tremendous influence among the youth of Kerala in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when a generation was getting introduced to the world of pop music.
Watch: Trailer of Moonwalk