Exclusive! Benyamin, GR Indugopan screenplay film about the teenage craze with Malavika Mohanan, Mathew Thomas

After a hiatus, Malavika Mohanan is back in Malayalam with a coming-of-age drama scripted by literary heavyweights – Benyamin and GR Indugopan. The as-yet-untitled film, which has Mathew Thomas in mind, will be directed by debutant Alwin Henry.

In an exclusive conversation with OTTplay, GR Indugopan tells us: “The film takes place in Poovar, which is a tourist destination near Thiruvananthapuram. The film’s director, Alwin, is also from Poovar and knows the place and its people inside out. Thus, the film will capture the beauty of this place while telling the story of a teenager and his infatuation.

While Mathew plays the youngster, Malavika Mohanan will return to Malayalam after Pattam Pole and The Great Father as the female lead. “She plays a Poovar woman in the film,” Indugopan explains.

Working with Benyamin, Indugopan, who is also the screenwriter of Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Kaapa and Vilayath Buddha, says, “Alwin had come up with the story for the film and we both thought it was a great story. That’s how I decided to collaborate. It’s also a positive aspect to have some literary elements in a film script.

Speaking exclusively to OTTplay, Benyamin went on to explain how Malayalam’s two most talented writers decided to work together on a screenplay. “When a young person told us this story, we both liked it. Also, we are both friends and because we are busy with other projects, we decided to do it together. We are talking about a new geography through the film, that of Poovar.

The film will also mark the first screenplay for writer Aadujeevitham, who won the JCB Prize for Literature in 2018. “It’s a new flow for me. Screenwriting is totally different from writing novels and stories. So I wanted to try my hand at it, especially with Indugopan, which has already written a few screenplays, being there as a support and guide”, explains Benyamin.

The film’s director, Alwin, previously helped filmmakers such as Ranjith Sankar, Salim Ahammed, Ven, Jay K and Jeethu Joseph. Joy Mathew, Vineeth Vishwam, Rajesh Madhavan, Muthumano, Veena Nair and Sminu Sijo are also among the cast of the film, which has Anend C Chandran as cinematographer and Govind Vasantha as music director.

Poovar, Vizhinjam and Neyyatthinkara are the main locations for the film produced by Rocky Mountain Cinemas.