Anoop Menon & Shajon locks horns in political satire, Thimingala Vetta

It seems like Kerala politics lends itself quite nicely to comedy, with movies like Sandesam and more recently, Vellimoonga, having an almost cult following. Rakesh Gopan’s upcoming directorial Thimingala Vetta is a political satire based on the political workers of the three major parties in the state capital. The film, which released a vibrant title poster recently, has Anoop Menon in the lead, with Baiju Santhosh, Kalabhavan Shajon, and Ramesh Pisharody in other significant roles.
“We are showing political manoeuvers in Thiruvananthapuram in a bit of a loud, fun manner. The audiences will be able to catch glimpses of several real political incidents,” says the writer-director, adding that the title, which means whale hunt, is ‘symbolic of the huge political machine’.

Anoop Menon plays a right-wing political worker, while Shajon is leftist and Baiju Santhosh is a power broker. The director reveals that, interestingly, the film also features five Japanese actors, though Rakesh does not wish to reveal the characters they play. “There are local-level political workers who dedicate themselves to their parties, but very few reach positions of power. We are looking into the humorous situations these characters get into with their ideologies, without taking direct aim at political parties,” says Rakesh, about the film that is scheduled for an Onam release and has a second schedule shoot happening in Rajasthan.
The film has four songs, three composed by Bijibal and one by Dhibu Ninan Thomas. “This is a political story that will have interest across the country, and in fact, the rights for remaking it in Hindi is already under negotiation,” says Rakesh.