The 2019 film, which premiered at Indian Panorama at the 50th International Film Festival of India, will finally release on a new OTT platform, MTALKIE.
columbi (Loudspeaker), film director TK Rajeev Kumar’s 25th film, magnifies the issues that come to the fore when changes in law affect the marginalized. The 2019 film, which premiered at Indian Panorama at the 50th International Film Festival of India, will finally release on a new OTT platform, MTALKIE. Releasing on December 24 columbi This will be his first Malayalam film. The film also won the National Award for Best Lyricist for Kavi Prabha Varma.
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“This is the story of an old, childless couple who are making a living by renting loudspeakers and megaphones. Their lives are affected because of new laws governing the use and rent of megaphones and sound amplifiers,” explains Rajeev.
The main characters are played by Renji Panicker and Rohini. It is his deep love for music that manifests in his small venture. Music lovers start their own outlet for rare music and voice records.
As a result of the new laws, the couple are forced to relocate and they start a small cafe, where customers can have a bite and listen to vintage music of their choice.
One such collector who arrives at the shop is Vijay Yesudas, who appears in a cameo as himself. He requests for the first microphone which is believed to have been used by his father KJ Yesudas. “Meanwhile the elderly gentleman tells him that the first Ayyappa bhakti was sung by none other than his grandfather, KJ Augustine… The film has many interesting snippets. Voices of past leaders like Nehru, EMS Namboodiripad etc., says Rajiv are heard.
Nithya Menon, in an ensemble cast, is on her way to Kochi to attend the Kochi Biennial when she comes across an article on the couple. She visits him and soon they develop a deep bond with the young artist.
Says Rajeev, “Nithya is the catalyst of the film and that’s how the film’s story takes a turning point.”
The cast includes Manju Pillai, Polly Valsan, Suresh Kumar, Dilesh Pothan, Baiju Santosh and Sijoy Varghese.
But for some of the scenes at the Biennale in Kochi, the film was shot in a legacy Agraharam Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram.
Rajeev says that OTT release would be the best option for his work due to the lockdown. He said, ‘Many big films are waiting to be released. Instead of competing with so many big-budget movies, I felt like a movie columbi Will get better audience on OTT,” believes Rajiv.
even if he is eagerly waiting columbiOTT release, Rajeev has already completed shooting for his new film Bermuda, Starring Shane Nigam. “It is a satire which is based on a real incident which I read in the newspaper. A peculiar complaint was lodged at a police station in Nagpur by a man who claimed that he had lost something priceless,” says Rajiv. The film is in the post-production stage and will release in cinemas in 2022.
He says the topic is relevant because it deals with a period of confusion, when many people seem to have lost their sanity or become numb from the tragedies they read or see in the media.
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