Basil Joseph and Vineeth Sreenivasan are part of the ensemble cast of Vala, the upcoming zombie film helmed by Gaganachari director Arun Chandu. Their involvement was revealed through an exclusive four-minute sneak peek screened at Kerala PopCon 2025, a pop culture convention held in Kochi on Sunday. The makers have stated that the aforementioned glimpse will be released to the public later this week.
Vala marks the return of veteran actor Jagathy Sreekumar in a significant role. He plays Professor Ambili, also referred to as Uncle Luna.R, a wheelchair-bound, tech-savvy character modelled on the English theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking. A character poster featuring Jagathy in a post-apocalyptic setting was released earlier on his birthday.
Director Arun, speaking to CE, confirmed that the first schedule of the film's principal photography has been completed, with the next schedule slated to begin in June. The film is now planned for release in 2026. Co-written by Arun and Tyler Durden, it reunites several members of the team behind the State Award-winning mockumentary Gaganachari.
The lead cast of Vala includes Gokul Suresh, Aju Varghese, Anarkali Marikar, K B Ganesh Kumar, and Madhav Suresh, along with Bhagath Manuel, John Kaippallil, and Arjun Nandakumar. Additionally, veteran actor Janardanan has lent his voice to a cat, a detail that emerged from the sneak peek screened at Kerala PopCon. On the technical front, the film has cinematography by Surjith S Pai, editing by Ceejay Achu and music by Sankar Sharma. It is produced by Turtle Vine Productions in association with Letters Entertainments.
In an earlier conversation with us, Arun had shared that Vala's narrative blends elements of screen thriller and found footage styles, turning towards the zombie genre in its second half. It follows a protagonist loosely modelled on American YouTuber and journalist Johnny Harris. The script incorporates references to internet culture and aims to merge genre storytelling with contemporary themes.