Produced on a shoestring. No big star cast. Yet the Malayalam movie 'Kismat,' directed by a debutant director, has created quite a stir in the social media discussions, well ahead of its release. The trailer of the movie has got over 2 lakh views on Youtube in a matter of just a couple of days!
The technical excellence and the performance of its lead actors, evident in its trailer, have already made 'Kismat' one of the much-awaited movie of the year. Directed by debutant Shanavas Bavakutty, the film is based on inter-religious love. The story weaves around the tumultuous love affair between Irfan and Anitha. Interestingly, it comes at a time when overt and covert campaigns against the socalled 'Love Jihad' incidents in Kerala are at its peak. And the film, as the trailer shows, raises some pertinent questions against religious bigotry and hatred of the other.
'Kismat' stars Shine Nigam, son of famous mimicry artist Aby, as Irfan and Sruthi Menon, who plays research student Anitha in lead roles. Under pressure from all sides, an emotional Irfaan confronts his parents who challenged his relationship with a Hindu girl: "Is it her fault that she was born in a different religion. Is it my virtue to be born in ours."
Though the storyline may appear a cliche, the director says that the film is unique in many respects. "It is inspired by a true life incident happened in Ponnani in Malappuram in 2012. When I told the story to director Rajiv Ravi and he readily told me that he would produce it. Director Lal Jose promised to take up the distribution. The movie will cater to all kinds of audience, says Shanavas who won praise for his short film 'Kanneru'.
The movie is produced by cinematographer-director Rajeev Ravi under the banner of Collective Phase One and Shailaja Manikantan under the banner of Yes Movie Makers.
