Veeram

Veeram (2017)

വീരം

Veeram is based on the ballads of North Malabar and narrates the tale of the brave and ambitious Kalarippayattu warrior, Chandu, whose story resembles that of William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Date of release
2017-02-24
TMDB
5.8 / 10 (11)
Runtime
1h 40m
Genres
Action, Drama, History
Director
Jayaraj
Collection
Navarasa

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Based on: Macbeth

Veeram (transl. Valour) is a 2016 Indian historical drama film directed and co-written by Jayaraj. It is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, and is the fifth installment in Jayaraj's Navarasa series. The film, which is also inspired by the Vadakkan Pattukal of North Malabar region in Kerala tells the story of Chandu Chekavar, an infamous warrior in the 13th century North Malabar.

Production

After the film Ottaal, Jayaraj announced in an interview in March 2015 that he is planning to adapt William Shakespeare's Macbeth and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov for a feature film. Jayaraj had earlier adapted two of Shakespeare plays Othello and Antony and Cleopatra into feature films in Malayalam. Veeram, an adaptation of Macbeth was officially announced by Jayaraj in October 2015.

Pre-production underwent until early December 2015. Veeram is the fifth film in Jayaraj's Navarasa series, the story adapted from Macbeth will be set in North Malabar and Jayaraj also takes inspiration from Vadakkan Pattukal (Northern Ballads). The film will abundantly use the martial art, Kalarippayattu.

Jayaraj calls the film his dream project. After completing the screenplay and conceptualising a production plan, he put a newspaper advertisement in search of producers. Chandramohan D. Pilai, a Qatar-based banker and an old friend of Jayaraj, replied to the ad. In fact, almost thirty years ago, Pillai already had a discussion with Jayaraj about producing a film, and Jayaraj was interesting in directing it.

Jayaraj did not want to cast stars or experienced actors in the film as he does not want to compromise his directorial freedom as star actors often demand alterations in the script to glamourise their characters. Audition for actors was conducted in three rounds, with the first one conducted in Mumbai in October 2015, and second round in Chennai, and third in Kerala. Over 4500 candidates participated in the audition.

Despite the search for a newcomer, Bollywood actor Kunal Kapoor was selected to portray the protagonist. He plays the role of Chandu Chekavar, an infamous warrior in the Vadakkan Pattukal (Northern Ballads) of North Malabar region in Kerala. Kapoor's name was confirmed in late December 2015.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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