Pandalam royal family visits sets of Unni Mukundan-starrer ‘Malikappuram’

The members of the Pandalam royal family visited the sets of Malayalam movie ‘Malikappuram’ that narrates the iconic story of Lord Ayyappa. Deepa Varma, Arun Varma and Sudhin Gopinath represented the royal family.

They spent quite some time on the sets and had long conversations with the child artiste who plays the lead role in the movie and also actor Unni Mukundan who essays a pivotal role.

Tamil actor Sambath Ram, director Vishnu Shashisankar and screen writer Abhilash Pillai too were on the sets. The royal family had decided to visit the sets after learning about the unique title of the film and also the theme that it handles.

They vowed to offer their wholehearted support to the movie and its crew members. ‘Malikappuram’ narrates the story of eight-year-old Kalyani and her super hero Ayyappan. Director Vishnu Shashisankar is the son of veteran filmmaker Shashi Sankar who directed super hit movies like ‘Narayam’, ‘Kunjikoonan’, ‘Mister Butler’ and ‘Manthramothiram’.

The director also does the editing of the film. The big budget movie is jointly bankrolled by Anto Joseph and Venu Kunnapally for the banners of Ann Mega Media and Kavya Film Company respectively. The puja of the film was performed recently at Erumeli Sree Dharma Shasta temple. The switch on ceremony was performed by Travancore Dewaswom Board president K Ananthagopan. S. Sudarshan clapped the sticks of the clapperboard.

Abhilash Pillai has penned the screenplay of ‘Malikappuram’ after hit movies like Patham Valavu, Night Drive and Cadaver. The film boasts of an ensemble cast of Indrans, Manoj K Jayan, Saiju Kurup, Ramesh Pisharady, Sambath Ram, Sreepath and Alfie Panjikkaran.

Vishnu Narayanan handles the cinematography of the movie. Meanwhile, Ranjin Raj has composed the music and the background score. The lines of the songs are penned by Santhosh Varma while art is by Suresh Kollam. Jith Payyannur does the makeup and Anil Chembur designs the costumes. The action sequences are choreographed by Kanal Kannan. Sanjay Padiyoor is the production controller. Rajis Antony is the chief associate director while the creative director is Shamsu Seiba. Jijo Jose is the associate director while Ananthu Prakashan and Bibin Abraham are the assistants. The stills are by Rahul T and Manju Gopinath is the PRO. The movie is extensively shot in Sabarimala and nearby places.