Cinematographer-director Santosh Sivan is in talks to direct a film based on lord Ayyappa. The movie, produced by Gokulam Gopalan, is a multilingual and is likely to have Anushka Shetty and AR Rahman on board.
Talking about the movie to ToI, the producer said, “This is a multilingual project that will be made in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. The story is by newbie Prashanth. Santosh and I go back a long way. We have been in talks to do a film together for a long time, for I really value his vast experience and knowledge of cinema. Eventually, this project fell in place. Yes, it is based on swami Ayyappan, but it is approached from a different angle.”
Though the film is in the discussion stages, the producer revealed a few details. “As of now, all I can say is that Anushka Shetty and AR Rahman are likely to come on board. We are still finalising the cast and crew. Of course, we are trying to get actors from all the industries since it is a multilingual project. An official announcement will be made soon. We have begun pre-production work, though. We will most likely start the project by August end or September.”
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Gokulam Gopalan last produced the Nivin Pauly starrer Kayamkulam Kochunni. The movie was directed by Rosshan Andrews and featured Mohanlal and Priya Anand in the lead. It was scripted by Bobby and Sanjay, and went on to become a success.
Director Santosh Sivan is busy shooting for his directorial Jack N Jill in Malayalam. The movie features Manju Warrier and Kalidas Jayaram in the lead.
The Chekka Chivatha Vaanam cinematographer also recently revealed that he is set to work with Rajinikanth after a gap of 27 years. The duo previously worked together on Mani Ratnam’s Thalapathy.
Santosh Sivan announced the news on social media. Since the only active project involving the Superstar is the Murugadoss film, one can assume that the cinematographer was referring to the same project. He has collaborated with director Murugadoss in the past too.
Finally ?? very excited to work with Rajini Sir after Thalapathy ?
— SantoshSivanASC. ISC (@santoshsivan) February 10, 2019
Meanwhile, Prithviraj Sukumaran recently announced a project titled Ayyappan, based on lord Ayyappa.