KOCHI: Filmmaker Pratap Pothen, who passed away on Friday, has left with an unfulfilled dream -- directing a movie with Dulquer Salmaan in the lead.
The project was announced in 2015 and writer-director Anjali Menon was given the responsibility of writing its story and screenplay. Back then, Pothen, in a Facebook post, said he was “excited” to be collaborating with a “dream team”.
The national award-winning filmmaker revealed that he would be teaming up with Anjali Menon and cinematographer-director Rajeev Ravi for the project, which was a romantic tale set against one of the beach destinations in Kerala. The film titled Love in Anjengo was to go on the floors in 2016. He had also approached music maestro Ilayaraja for the project.
“Dulquer was my choice not because he’s Mammootty’s son. But I’ve seen his films ‘Ustad Hotel’ and Ok Kanmani, and I was captivated by him. I got the same feeling when I saw his father (and knew) he was going to head for greater things,” he had written.
Things fell apart after Pothen was not impressed by Anjali’s script. Pothen later announced that he was dropping the project citing “unimpressive screenplay” and “outside interference”.
Though film lovers and critics hoped that the project will be revived, the untimely demise of Pothen on Friday means that the project will be buried forever.