Nivin Pauly on Kayamkulam Kochunni: It's one of the biggest films ever produced in Malayalam cinema

At the trailer launch of Nivin Pauly’s most expensive film Kayamkulam Kochunni, the actor said: “We have waited for a long time and feel excited to launch the trailer of _Kayamkulam Kochunni_ . I should thank Rosshan Andrrews and Sanjay for inviting me to be Kayamkulam Kochunni; it’s the biggest film in my career and also one of the biggest films ever produced in Malayalam.” [caption id=“attachment_4708241” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Mohanlal and Nivin Pauly in Kayamkulam Kochunni. Image from Twitter/@nivinpauly[/caption] Known for playing mild-mannered roles, Nivin essays the character of the deadly highway thief who was considered to be the Robinhood of Kerala in the 18th century. “As a team, we shot the film in around nine months and have reached the post-production stage now”, said Nivin Pauly. Director Rosshan Andrrews of How Old Are You and Mumbai Police fame said: “It’s a two-year-long journey for us. The writing team had spent nearly one and a half years on the research and script work. We also shot the film for nine months. Rather than bragging about my film, I want to screen it for the audiences. I should thank Mohanlal sir for blessing us and launching the trailer on his Facebook page”. Mohanlal and Rosshan Andrrews had previously worked together in many hit films including Ividam Swargamanu and Casanovva. Impressed with his characterisation and Roshan’s ambitious attempt, Mohanlal agreed to play Ithikkara Pakki in an extended cameo, who is considered to be the mentor of Kayamkulam Kochunni. On Mohanlal’s Facebook page, the trailer has crossed more than one million views and the YouTube version is also inching towards the million mark. Produced by Gokulam Gopalan, Kayamkulam Kochunni is slated to release during the Onam weekend. Given Pauly’s popularity in Tamil-speaking regions, the producers have also recently started the dubbing for the Tamil version with the help of Baahubali’s Tamil dialogue writer Madhan Karky. Andrrews’ version is not the first time that Kayamkulam Kochunni’s story is being narrated in the Malayalam film industry. In 1966, PA Thomas made a film with the same name but Rosshan says his version will be more detailed. “Though the base for both versions is the same, we have done an extensive study of the subject. For example, our film has scenes explaining the relationship between Kochunni and Janaki (played by Priya Anand). We had also hired a separate research team for the film and it will be a visual treat to the audiences”, said Rosshan, when he started the film last year. The filmmaker also added, “It’s not just a historical film and with such a massive budget; we can’t afford to make it as a documentary so there will fictional elements too”. The film’s one of the writers, Sanjay, said “Kayamkulam Kochunni is an unforgettable historical character. Generally, if we talk about superheroes people list names like Superman and Spiderman but we have our own superheroes in our state like Kayamkulam Kochunni and Ithikkara Pakki”. The trailer of Kayamkulam Kochunni clearly shows that the film has been made on a large scale; the grandiose visuals and stunning action sequences speak volumes on the massive budget involved. The trailer is not just a visual extravaganza, but also records Nivin Pauly’s growth and struggle to become the majestic Kayamkulam Kochunni. In the trailer, Rosshan has also hinted about the caste discrimination that existed in the 18th century when Kayamkulam Kochunni falls in love with a girl from the working class. The makers have also cleverly introduced Mohanlal only in the end of the trailer to clarify that the film only belongs to Nivin Pauly and the Malayalam superstar’s character is just an extended cameo.