Coming soon: Achuthanandan, the movie star

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan is the latest among state politicians to make an appearance in a movie. Achuthanandan, who makes a special appearance, dons his real life role in the movie titled 'At Once', set for release next month.
At Once, under the banner of Attingal Films, is the second film of director Syed Usman after Mayapuri. Produced by Sabeer Riyad and Kilimannoor Raveendran, the two-hour long movie narrates a romantic story that showcases various facets of love with interludes of life's unprecedented tribulations.
Achuthanandan plays the role of the friend of Dr Ajmal, a character in the movie. Dr Ajmal, the director of a rehabilitation centre, treats the hero of the film who gets infected with HIV after the villain injects the virus into his blood. Achuthanandan addresses the inmates of the rehabilitation centre during a function and gives a message to the inmates and the society as a whole.
Achuthanandan makes a second appearance in the movie in a scene in which a book, also titled At Once, is released.
The director, Usman, said it was his ambition to get VS to cooperate with his project. "I love and respect VS who is a leader of the masses. I am sure that the presence of the legendary political stalwart V S Achuthanandan will add to the attraction of the film," he said. It was after much convincing done by the architects of the movie that Achuthanandan agreed to be part of the project.
The scenes in which Achuthanandan appears were canned during a shooting schedule at Cantonment House, the official residence of the leader of the opposition, two months ago. The very first take of Achuthanandan was okayed by the director.