'Arikomban- The most powerful force on Earth is justice'; Sajid Yahiya to helm movie on wild tusker
By Aishwarya Nair | First Published May 7, 2023, 3:08 PM ISTThe team behind the project shared a title poster on Saturday that showed a cub and an adult elephant.
A movie based on the life of Arikomban, the wild elephant that has been making headlines in Kerala for the past few days, is currently in production. 'Arikomban' will be directed by Sajid Yahiya, who has previously worked on films like IDI and Mohanlal. Suhail Koya, a songwriter, wrote the script. Its production includes NM Badusha, Shinoy Mathew, and Rajan Chirayil.
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The team behind the project shared a title poster on Saturday that showed a cub and an adult elephant. Presumably, that is Arikomban and his mother, who apparently passed away when he was just two years old.
The film comes with a tagline, 'The most powerful force on Earth is justice'.
Arikomban, who earned his moniker from his raids on neighbourhood stores and homes in search of rice, is said to have killed seven individuals across Idukki. Locals urged that it be moved, which resulted in a heated discussion. After a lengthy legal battle, the court recently approved its relocation. The authorities ultimately succeeded in tranquillizing it and moving it to the Periyar Tiger Reserve's jungles after several failed efforts.
Though the Kerala Forest Department dropped him off near the Periyar Reserve on April 30 at midnight, he has since trekked at least 40 kilometres to get to Meghamalai in the Tamil Nadu district of Theni.
The Kerala High Court had on April 19 directed the expert panel appointed by it and the state government to take a final decision by May 3 on the alternative site suggested by the Forest department for translocating the 'Arikomban'.
The direction by the High Court came after the Forest Department said it had an alternative location in mind and would place the same before the Committee of Experts (CoE) appointed by it to decide the fate of Arikomban for its consideration.
The court was hearing a PIL by two animal rights groups -- People for Animals (PFA), Trivandrum Chapter, and the Walking Eye Foundation for Animal Advocacy -- opposing the government's decision to keep the elephant in captivity and train it to become a kumki elephant.
Also read: Kerala police to inspect film sets over rampant drug abuse in industry
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