Ustad Hotel (2012)

Interesting facts

Ustad Hotel is a 2012 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Anwar Rasheed, written by Anjali Menon and produced by Listin Stephen. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan, Thilakan and Nithya Menen with Siddique, Mamukkoya, and Lena in supporting roles, along with Asif Ali and Jishnu in cameo roles. The film features music composed by Gopi Sundar, cinematography by Loganathan Srinivasan and editing by Praveen Prabhakar respectively.

Production

Ustad Hotel was scripted by Anjali Menon; it was the first script she wrote for someone else. The film was born from the friendship Anjali and Anwar Rasheed shared when they worked together in Kerala Cafe, in which Anwar directed the featurette Bridge. Narrating the way the idea evolved, Anwar Rasheed said, "the thread of the movie came out in a telephonic conversation with Anjali Menon, script writer of the movie.

Anjali says, "When we met and talked about his past films, Anwar Rasheed told me once, 'Anjali, I want to make a film in which I compromise the least.' That kind of stuck in my head. I wanted to write something in which he wouldn't have to compromise." Anjali wrote the script during a stay in Calicut. She says, "Soon after I discovered I was pregnant, I moved to Calicut to be with my mother.

The project was announced in November 2011. The first actors cast included Dulquer Salmaan, Nithya Menen and Thilakan. Initially, Tamil actor Siddharth was considered for the lead role, but he rejected the offer, which was later given to Dulquer Salmaan.

Nithya Menen was cast for the female lead despite a ban imposed upon the actress by the producers's association. Footballer Suvith Krishna, who represented the Kerala team from 2004 to 2010 and is a professional model, made his film debut as a keyboardist in the song sequence "Appangalembadum". Singer Reju Joseph's son Jagan Reju played the role of teenage Kareem.

The cinematographer was Loganathan Srinivasan, the film was produced under the banner of Magic Frames, and the songs were composed by Gopi Sunder with lyrics by Rafeeq Ahmed. Praveen Prabhakar edited the film, art direction was by Bipin Chandran and Sameera Sanish designed the costumes. The sound designing was done by M. R. Rajakrishnan. Ustad Hotel was in production for one-and-a-half years.

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