Here's how Kireedam bridge in TVM looks under Kerala's cine tourism project, tender issued

Thiruvananthapuram: Habitat Technology group at Poojapura has invited tenders for the construction of Kireedam bridge at Vellayani as part of Cine tourism project. The period of completion of work is four months and the approximate value of work is Rs 1.22 crores. Plans for the proposed Kireedam bridge in Thiruvananthapuram have been included in the tender document which includes aerial view, entrance and bridge view. In addition to the bridge, the project envisages a cafe, a view deck and a rehabilitation shop.

According to the Kerala tourism newsletter, the bridge at Vellayani came to the limelight following the massive success of the 1989 Malayalam film ‘Kireedam’. The film, featuring Thilakan and Mohanlal as father and son, had some of its emotional scenes set against the picturesque locale and the song sequence shot on the bridge further made it even more popular, attracting film lovers and tourists alike to the bridge and adjacent areas.

Kerala Tourism (KT) has pitched the project centred around the bridge as part of the Experiential Tourism concept. This will be the first initiative to take off under the Cinema Tourism project, the other being Bekal Fort in Kasaragod, where Mani Ratnam shot the popular song ‘Uyire...’ for his film ‘Bombay’, the newsletter noted.

Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas had said there are many beautiful places that have become prime locations for evergreen hit movies, and the Department of Tourism intends to mark those spots for the Cinema Tourism project. A few of these are closely identified with some of the box office hits, and Kerala Tourism will spot such locales in all districts, he had said.