Filmmaker and actor Vishnu Govindan is venturing into the digital space with Kili, an original web series he wrote and directed, with backing from actors Aju Varghese, Dhyan Sreenivasan and producer Visakh Subramaniam under their Funtastic Films banner. The trailer of the series is out.
Aju Varghese, RJ Mathukutty, Sreejith Ravi, Karthik Shankar, Anand Manmadhan, Vishak Nair (Anandam), and Vishnu Govindan appear as the main characters. The comedy series takes place against the backdrop of the pandemic and lockdown and revolves around a group of characters affected by them in various ways.
The team claims Kili is the most expensive web series made in Malayalam so far, with no compromises in terms of the making as they were aiming for the quality of a mainstream film. Abraham Joseph is the cinematographer and Bineesh Bhaskaran, the editor. Niranj Suresh handled the music.
Kili has Sreejith B, Anand Manmadhan, and Jithin Issac Thomas as co-writers. The makers plan to release it as a three-season series. The first season contains eight episodes, each of 25-min duration.
The series sees Vishnu returning to the director’s chair after History of Joy and is Funtastic Films’ third production venture after Love Action Drama and the recently completed Saajan Bakery since 1962.
The company is jointly bankrolling it with MyDesignation Studios. Kili is the second original web series in Malayalam from a mainstream filmmaker after Mridul Nair’s yet-to-be-released Instagraamam, which also features mainstream actors.