With its cute lead couple and engaging music, Hadiya looks like a fairly generic love story. But Unni Pranavam insists his film not your typical boy-meets-girl tale, rather a feel-good entertainer with oodles of freshness. “It’s a clean, complete entertainer which also carries a very beautiful message. It conveys the value of relationships to the young generation,” says the director.
The USP of the film is its subject, he adds. “It’s a film built on relationships and the value of family, or in other words, it deals with love and sacrifice. Hadiya means gift and this film is a gift of love.” Hadiya also has a female-oriented theme, exploring many a challenge faced by women in contemporary times. “It tries to tell love is above all sorts of material comforts. It’s also a tribute to motherhood as the film touches upon a handful of socially relevant themes including surrogacy,” he says.
Hadiya is woven around three individuals from different backgrounds, whose paths crisscross at one point. “Nishan plays Brahma, a youngster hailing from Kozhikode. The film is all about how he meets Sarah, a girl from Kottyam and Khadeeja, who lives in Uttar Pradesh,” he says. While Hadiya is the second Mollywood outing of Ragini Nandwani, who made her debut opposite Mohanlal in Peruchazhi, Leona Lishoy steps into the role of Khadeeja. “All three actors have a lot to perform in the film,” says the director.
Unni adds though there is a love story at the core, Hadiya is different from the regular romances. “The treatment is entirely different. And also, it’s a mixed package. It’s a simple tale which has humour, drama, sentiments and even an element of suspense,” he says about the film which boasts of an interesting cast as well.
Apart from the leading trio, the film stars Sujith, Sudhir Karamana, Alencier, Kottaym Pradeep, Sreekumar, P Balachandran, Sivaji Guruvayoor, Dharmajan, KPAC Lalitha, Sajitha Madathil, Anjali and Urmila Unni in other roles.
Another highlight of the film is its music, says Unni. “The film is definitely a musical, it’s tracks composed by Sharreth. He is scoring the music for a movie after a gap and the playback singers include Kavya Madhavan along with composers like Hariharan, Gopi Sundar and Bijibal,” he says. Hadiya produced by by Ayyoob Kacheri will hit the screens this Friday.