Ardhanari, the film in which Thilakan has donned the role of a Hijada (transgender) for the first time in his career, will hit theatres in November.
Produced by noted musician M G Sreekumar, the film is scripted and directed by Dr Santosh Souparnika.
Though the shoot is completed, the challenge before the film crew will be to find a suitable voice to dub for Thilakan’s character.
“Thilakan plays the character of Nayak, a person with a man’s physique but with the mind of a woman. On hearing the story, Thilakan said that he was waiting for such a role for the past several years. He told us that he and actor Jagathy Sreekumar had been planning a film of this kind but it did not materialise. Later, whenever we visited his house in Thiruvananthapuram, Thilakan would enact the character for us. He always said that the character demanded dedicated practice since it was a totally new role for him,” director Santosh told Express.
Black Coffee directed by Sojan Joseph under the banner Kammuvadakkan Films is another one of Thilakan’s films. To be released on October 19, Thilakan plays Krishnettan, a veteran Communist who is undergoing life imprisonment for two murders.
Though suffering from ailments, Thilakan was not ready to compromise with his role. Says director Sojan Joseph, “Realising his difficulty in walking, we avoided a scene in which he had to walk towards the protagonist. Instead, we placed a cement bench for him. However, Thilakan refused and said he would do exactly what was written in the script. He also advised us not to compromise with the character for the sake of actor’s convenience. We all stood stunned by his dedication to work. And the scene has come out well in the movie.”
Thilakan plays the role of a theatre owner in the film Scene Onnu Nammude Veedu directed by Shaiju Anthikkad.
Yathrakkoduvil scripted and directed by Basil Zak and Vinayan’s 3-d film Dracula 2012 are the other films gearing up for release.