Pathinettam Padi offers a good platform for newbies to shine

Shankar Ramakrishnan-directed

Pathinettam Padi

was two years in the planning and making. It features some of the biggest names in the Malayalam industry—Mammootty, Prithviraj, Unni Mukundan and also Kollywood actor Arya. But, it is also a dream launch pad for about 65 young newcomers, comprising boys and girls. The casting call announcement by Nivin Pauly had received an overwhelming response from about 18,000 youngsters. Several rounds of auditions helped zero in on the current cast.

The story is about the gang rivalry between the students from an international school and a government school in Thiruvananthapuram. It is set in the end of the 1990s, weaving in several cultural signatures of the capital city, including the double decker bus. The newbies were put through a week-long actors’ preparation camp to bring in a sense of ease among them, when they play schoolmates in the film.

Ashwin Gopinath

and

Akshay Radhakrishnan

play the young leads, while Prithviraj and Arya play their grown-up versions. Ahaana plays a school teacher.

In the camp, the youngsters met with veteran actors, filmmakers and the team of fight master Kaecha who flew in from Thailand to train them. Most of the fight sequences in Pathinettam Padi comprise the boys, but there is also one with girls. The film conveys the message that education does not happen just within the four walls of the school.

The film, produced under the banner of August Cinema, has nine songs. AR Rahman’s nephew A H Kaashif has composed the songs and background score. There is a song sung by M G Sreekumar with his nephew K S Harishankar.