After award winning Adaminte Makan Abu and Mammootty-starrer Kunjananthante Kada, director Salim Ahmed is all set for a third flick, this time with the tale of Malayali diaspora in the Gulf countries.
The director, who likes to tell the tales of the common man, has again joined hands with Mammootty for the film titled, Pathemari. The mega star plays Pallickal Narayanan, a representative of thousands of Keralites who reached the shores of Dubai or Abudhabi or Sharjah in search of a livelihood.
The crew is working hard to take the film to theatres next month itself after finishing the shoot which is currently in progress at Dubai.
"The film is an attempt to imprint the five-decade-long history of the struggles of Malayali diaspora in the Gulf," Salim told Manorama.
The story unfolds through the life of Pallickal Narayanan and his friend Moitheen (Sreenivasan).
The film goes through four phases of Narayanan's life. While the early years of Narayanan's life in the Gulf were shot in Khorfakhan, Fujaira and Dubai, the rest of the film happens in places like Chettuva, Nattika, Thriprayar and Bepur.
Mazhavil Manorama's 'D for dance' fame Jewel Mary plays the lady lead in the film. She dons the role of Nalini, wife of Narayanan. Siddique, his son Shaheen Siddique and Joy Mathew play other strong characters.
Kannur-natives T.K. Hashik and T.P. Sudheesh, who have been working in the Gulf for a long time, have joined hands with Salim Ahmed to produce the film under the banner of Allens Media. They said that they were drawn to the venture with the peculiarity of the theme.
"Not only as an exile but also as the son of an exile, I felt it was my duty to do the film which etches the history of the Malayali diaspora," Hashik said.
Lauding the efforts of the director, Sudheesh said that the audience would feel the heat of diaspora life through the film.
Madhu Ampattu dons the cinematographer's cap for the third time with Salim for the film while Oscar-winner Resul Pookkutty handles sound recording. The songs are composed by Bijipal penned by Rafeeq Ahmed. Hariharan and Shahbas Aman croon the songs.
The film will be released in Kerala and the UAE alike.