Director Sajid Yahiya (IDI, Mohanlal) recently announced a film on Arikomban, the wild elephant that has been hogging Kerala’s news headlines for the last few days.
Scripted by lyricist Suhail Koya, the film will follow the eventful story of Arikomban from his cub days when he lost his mother. The makers are planning to start shooting in October. Sigiriya, a rock fortress in Sri Lanka and Chinnakanal in Idukki are the locations.
Sajid, in a statement, said, “The script is almost done, and we’ve started the other pre-production works. We are planning to also document the story of a few other elephants.” Arikomban, named for his raids on local shops and houses for rice, has reportedly killed seven people in various parts of Idukki.
It sparked a huge debate after locals demanded relocating it elsewhere. After a long legal tussle and a few unsuccessful attempts, the officials finally managed to transport it to the forests in Periyar Tiger Reserve. Arikomban’s capture and relocation were telecast live on TV channels inviting divided opinions.
While a section supported the decision to relocate it from human settlements, many were against taking the wild animal from its natural habitat. It is produced by NM Badusha, Shinoy Mathew, Rajan Chirail, Manju Badusha, Neethu Shinoy, and Prijin JP.