Aashiq Abu’s ‘Neelavelicham’ starts rolling in Kannur

Aashiq Abu’s directorial ‘

Neelavelicham

’ has gone on floors. The team kickstarted the shoot in Pinarayi, Kannur on Monday (Apr 25). Actors Tovino Thomas and Rima Kallingal who are part of the cast, were present at the switch-on function. Touted to be a horror thriller, the upcoming film is an adaptation of

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer

’s short story ‘Neelavelicham’.

In the pictures, Tovino Thomas was seen decked up in a white shirt and dhoti, accessorized with tinted glasses, while Rima Kallingal was donning an off-white kurta set.

Tovino Thomas has taken to his social media handle to share a glimpse of the switch-on function. “‘Neelavelicham’ 'നീലവെളിച്ചം',” he captioned, announcing the switch on.

Check out the pictures here.


Aashiq Abu had initially announced ‘Neelavelicham’ with actors Prithviraj Sukumaran, Kunchacko Boban, Rima Kallingal, in the lead roles, however, due to delay caused to the pandemic and date clashes, actors Prithviraj and Kunchacko Boban have reportedly opted out of the project. Prithviraj Sukumaran and Kunchacko Boban, and Soubin Shahir were replaced by Tovino Thomas, Roshan Mathew, and Shine Tom Chacko respectively.

Meanwhile, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s short story ‘Neelavelicham’ has been adapted on screen, earlier, in 1964. A Vincent helmed the film titled ‘Bhargavi Nilayam’, and it featured A-listers of the time Madhu, Vijaya Nirmala, and Prem Nazir in the lead roles. The iconic film ‘Bhargavi Nilayam’ also marked the first horror film made in Malayalam. As nearly six decades later the same short story is getting a silver screen adaptation, all eyes are on the project.

Aashiq Abu, who has previously delivered some exceptional films including ‘Mayaanadhi’, and ‘Virus’ is attempting to direct a horror film for the first time, and hence cinephiles and cinéastes are eagerly waiting for the upcoming film.

Girish Gangadharan has roped in as the cinematographer, while Saiju Sreedharan is the editor. Bijubal and Rex Vijayan are in charge of the music. Sameera Saneesh is the costume designer and Ronex Xavier is the makeup man.