Prithviraj, Kunchacko Boban in Aashiq Abu's Bhargavi Nilayam reboot

On the occasion of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer’s birthday, Aashiq Abu has announced the film adaptation of the writer’s famed short story,

Neelavelicham

. The poster for the film, with Prithviraj, Kunchacko Boban, Rima Leena Rajan and Soubin in the main roles, shows an old tharawad style house on a moonlit night, with the earth gleaming red.

The announcement is sure to be exciting for movie and literature lovers, and the daunting project for the makers. When Neelavelicham was first made into a Malayalam film nearly six decades back in 1964, it was a huge, iconic hit of the time. The horror film, named

Bhargavi Nilayam

, had the biggest stars of the time, with Madhu, Vijaya Nirmala and Prem Nazir in the lead roles.

“With respect to the sultan of letters. Happy birthday, legend,” Aashiq Abu captioned his announcement post. According to the poster, cinematography is by Shyju Khalid, Saiju Sreedharan is the editor, and music is by Bijibal and Rex Vijayan. It is not clear if the film will be a more modern take on the story or if it will have the old world feel, but costumes are by Sameera Saneesh and Ronex Xavier is on make up.

Neelavelicham tells the unusual story of how a writer gradually strikes up a bond with the ghost of a murdered woman, and how the mystery of her death and that of her paramour is pieced together. The earlier version in black and white marked the directorial debut of iconic director A Vincent and was scripted by Basheed himself.