Thelivu has a street play by Nedumudi Venu

Veteran of over 40 years, actor Nedumudi Venu goes back to his theatre roots in his upcoming film

Thelivu

. Directed by

M A Nishad

, the film has Asha Sharath playing Gauri, a coir worker, and Lal in the leads. “It is a film on an interrogation, rather than an investigation and it deals with the pressing question of the woman character’s existence. Nedumudi Venu has conceived a street play, including writing and composing the music, for the first time for the film,” says the director, adding that it is a suspense from start to finish.

The actor plays a social reformer, who is under police surveillance. “The street play is against the feudal system,” says Nedumudi Venu. “It is a stylised musical featuring 10 performers from Kavalam’s troupe and lasts for three minutes. Having worked in the plays of

Kavalam Narayana Panicker

, it wasn’t very difficult to conceive it, though I was doing it for the first time.”

The story moves forward through witness accounts, says Nishad. Renji Panicker, Meera Nair, Sudheer Karamana and Anil Nedumangad play officers of the Internal Security wing, which deals with a very specific type of case, he points out. The film is shot in Munroe Thuruth and Thenmala, in Kollam, and Thenkashi. Cheriyan Kalpakavadi is the writer and Nikhil S Preveen is the cinematographer.