Actors-cum-filmmakers Joy Mathew and VK Prakash will be headlining director Sajeevan Anthikkad’s new film La Tomatina. Kottayam Nazeer, a debutant named Ramesh Rajasekharan, and a yet-to-be-finalised female actor will essay the other leads.
The film has script and dialogues by T Arunkumar, based on his previously published short story of the same name. Sajeevan describes La Tomatina as a political film that needed the involvement of “serious actors”. “It’s the urge to tell a story with clear politics—a story that deals with some troubling contemporary issues, such as the curtailing of the freedom of expression that provided the impetus. It’s essentially a political thriller,” says the filmmaker who is excited about working with a crew that he feels is apt for a project of this nature.
La Tomatina refers to the famous food fight festival conducted in Spain every year. On adapting T Arunkumar’s story for the screen, Sajeev feels that the author’s style is such that his work lends itself easily to cinematic storytelling. “The advantage here is that Arunkumar himself is writing the script. Since he wrote it like a movie, adapting it as such was a no-brainer. He is someone strongly associated with movies—he has been harbouring a desire to write for films for a long time. Besides, a writer with sharp politics these days is so rare.”
Sajeevan hopes to start filming by September 20, intending to finish the shoot in Thrissur in 20 days with a small crew. It’s worth noting that Biriyaani director Sajin Baabu will handle the sound design. The technical team comprises cinematographer Manjulal, editor Venugopal, and art director Sreevalsan Anthikkad, among others. Sindhu M is producing La Tomatina under the banner of Freethought Cinema.