Three years after Forensic, Tovino Thomas is reuniting with its directors Akhil Paul and Anas Khan for Identity. Also starring popular non-Malayali actors like Trisha, Vinay Rai and Mandira Bedi, this big-scale film goes on floors on Tuesday.
“Mandira Bedi will be joining us in the initial schedule in Goa, which we’ve planned to wrap up in 4-5 days. After that, we’ll be heading to Udaipur, and then Coimbatore before returning to Ernakulam,” says Akhil, adding that some portions will also be shot in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kashmir.
Tovino, currently working on Lal Jr’s Nadikar Thilakam, will join the Identity team by October-end. The actor, who recently had an accident, will be taking extensive preps for the climax action sequence before starting the actual shoot. According to Akhil, Identity has a heavy dose of action, for which they have roped in multiple choreographers. “For the first two weeks, Tovino will be training under the guidance of a stunt director from abroad. We’ve already begun its pre-vis works,” adds an assured Akhil. The technical team also includes cinematographer Akhil of 2018 fame and editor Chaman Chakko, who recently got noticed for his works in 2018 and RDX.
Identity, also starring Shammy Thilakan, Aju Varghese, Arjun Radhakrishnan and Archana Kavi, has been planned to be shot in around 120 days across a span of seven months. It is produced jointly by Century Films and Ragam Movies, which is associated with Forensics as well. Akhil credits the banners for trusting their vision and supporting them to mount Identity on such a big canvas, “It’s a big film, not just in terms of budget, but the effort and coordination that it demands.” Elaborating more on the project and its scope, he adds, “Though it will be shot as a proper Malayalam film, it has all the ingredients—except romance—for a pan-India reach. We also have plans to turn it into a two-part project based on the audience's response. Mandira Bedi’s character is designed with that in mind. If ever we do a sequel, hers will be an integral part.”
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