Suresh Kumar, producer of the blockbuster Poochaku Oru Mukuthi, will now remake a movie that was made 30 years ago. This is the first time in the history of Malayalam cinema that a film will be remade in the same language.
Kumar is embarking on the project with the aid of M.T. Vasudevan Nair, a national award-winning Malayalam novelist. The shooting of the film, which will launch new faces, is nearing completion.
Neelathamara was first released in 1979. Written by Vasudevan Nair, the story will be slightly altered and shot in Kuttipuram. The original was shot near Thrissur.
Kumar, who is the president of the Kerala Film Producers Association, is now producing small-budget films after the huge losses incurred by filmmakers recently.
Propelled to fame
Kumar hopes to change this trend with Neelathamara. It was through this movie that Ambika made her debut in 1979 and went on to rule the Malayalam film industry for more than a decade.
The remake of Neelathamara is being directed by Lal Jose.
Referring to what prompted him to work on a remake, Kumar said: “I saw the film in my schooldays and liked it so much that I saw it 15 times.
"I was in search of the book for a long time and finally got it from Surya Krishnamurthy. Once I read it, I approached Vasudevan Nair with my desire to film a remake and he agreed.''
Archana, a new face, will play the role of Ambika while Kailash, another debutant, will play the lead. Interestingly, it is Archana's brother, Suresh Nair, who will be playing the role of the villain.
Though the original had many songs, the remake will have only two keertans, composed by Vidyasagar and written by Saratchandra Varma.
The much-awaited film will be released under the banner of Revathy Kalamandir and produced with a budget of Rs15 million (Dh1.15 million).
