Blessy, one of Kerala's most popular filmmakers, is getting ready for what he terms as his "biggest challenge" -- to recreate the award-winning Malayalam novel "Aadujeevitham' for the silver screen.
During a chat with IANS, Blessy said that the story line tells the life of a man ending up in a shambles after reaching the Middle East and finds himself tending goats in extreme desert temperatures.
Blessy said: "(The are) Challenges galore and it includes to re-shape popular actor Prithviraj into the character. Since we do not get permission to shoot in Saudi Arabia, we will do it in the desert areas of Jordan and Egypt. The biggest challenge is the delay as we have to shoot in summer and winter."
"The correct use of technology and technicians is going to be another challenge."
While the story is based on the 2008 Malayalam novel by Benyamin, Blessy has scripted it with changes made to meet the demands of cinema and to make it commercially viable. It will be a bilingual project to be released in Hindi and Tamil.
"We will be shooting in three schedules as various climatic conditions in the desert have to be filmed and Prithviraj too has to undergo a few transformations -- like he has to lose weight, besides several other changes."
More From This Section
"Our first schedule is slated early next year and the film is slated to be released in 2018," added Blessy, who is known for the meticulous planning that goes into each of his films.
Blessy is known in the industry as a man in no hurry and one who does not compromise. Hence, all his films, including his debut film in 2004 "Kaazcha", "Thanmathra" (2005), "Pranayam" (2011) to name a few, occupy a place of pride in the Malayalam film industry.
Like all his previous films where he gave utmost attention to realism, he is now scouting for actors from countries like Somalia and such places, besides tapping Hollywood for technology.
The producer of the mega film will be Middle East-based businessman K.G. Abraham.
--IANS
sg/rb/vt