Ayub khan actor filmography clint

Director Harikumar has been keeping himself busy. After 2017’s critically acclaimed Clint, the veteran behind such titles as Sukrutham, Ezhunnallathu, and Swayamvara Panthal made two films Jwalamukhi, starring Surabhi Lakshmi; and Autorickshawkarante Bharya, headlined by Suraj Venjaramoodu and Ann Augustine. The latter, which hits theatres soon, sees Ann Augustine returning to the silver screen after a brief hiatus. In a conversation with Cinema Express, Harikumar spoke about adapting the M Mukundan short story on which the film’s screenplay is based, and picking Suraj and Ann for playing the story’s married couple.

Interestingly, the initial name considered for the titular role was Nimisha Sajayan. But since Suraj and Nimisha had traversed similar territory before, Ann was chosen instead. When Harikumar first had Suraj in mind for the husband character, he wasn’t a “big star”. Harikumar wanted an actor who didn’t have stardom attached to him. He then witnessed the massive success of The Great Indian Kitchen and some of Suraj’s subsequent releases elevating the actor’s status overnight. “During the shoot, I told Suraj that if I were to do the film now, I might have considered someone else,” says the director, adding that Suraj’s subtle acting touches worked in the character’s favour.

The M Mukundan short story first caught Harikumar’s fancy when he stumbled upon it in a weekly. He felt it was ripe for a cinematic adaptation. But he also felt the original story was short enough only for a short film or teleserial. He asked Mukundan to expand the material to make it more suitable for a feature-length movie, which meant incorporating additional characters and subplots (Swasika Vijay features in one of them). “Mukundan first suggested I write it myself, but since I was particular about shooting the film in Mahe (the film’s main location) and having the characters converse in the local dialect, I deemed it prudent to let the original writer develop it instead