Odiyan

Odiyan (2018)

ഒടിയന്‍

With the arrival of electricity in the region under the British rule, the Odiyan clan that possesses the supernatural powers to assume animal form find it difficult to survive as they are ruthlessly captured and killed by the British. How the last Odiyan tries to save his clan with his stealth attacks, forms the crux.

Date of release
2018-12-13
TMDB
5.4 / 10 (25)
Runtime
2h 47m
Genres
Drama, Action, Fantasy
Director
V A Shrikumar Menon

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Kollengode, Palakkad

Odiyan (transl. Shapeshifter) is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language supernatural fantasy drama film directed by V. A. Shrikumar Menon in his feature film debut. Written by Harikrishnan, it is based on the legend of the Odiyan clan, who in Kerala folklore are men believed to possess shapeshifting abilities and can assume animal forms. Odiyans are said to have inhabited the Malabar region of Kerala before the widespread use of electricity. The film stars Mohanlal in the title role, alongside an ensemble cast of Prakash Raj, Manju Warrier, Siddique, Innocent, Manoj Joshi, Sana Althaf, Kailesh, Narain, Sreejaya Nair and Nandu. It was produced by Antony Perumbavoor through Aashirvad Cinemas.

Production

On 4 February 2017, Kerala Kaumudi reported that a 3D film titled Odiyan starring Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan, written by Harikrishnan and to be directed by commercial director V. A. Shrikumar Menon in what will be his feature film debut, was in development. Bachchan was reported to be playing the father of Mohanlal's character, and Prakash Raj and Manju Warrier were in substantial roles.

On 26 March 2017, Mohanlal confirmed the project officially via social media. He wrote that Antony Perumbavoor would produce the film through Aashirvad Cinemas, and that Sabu Cyril—who was later replaced by Prashanth Madhav—and Shaji Kumar would serve as production designer and cinematographer. Warrier would play the female lead role—though he did not mention Bachchan, Raj or the 3D format.

Menon and Harikrishnan initially planned a children's film titled Randu Vaanavillukal, which was set in the drylands of Tamil Nadu. Before filming, however, the Tamil Nadu flood happened, turning the film location green and lush, making it unsuitable for the film and their plans to shift the location was unsuccessful. The two met again for a follow-up discussion. Odiyan originated from a conversation between Menon and Harikrishnan.

Harikrishnan got the plot idea when he was lecturing journalism classes; he asked the students to write a feature story to test their creativity. The subject was "if Hollywood director Steven Spielberg comes to Palakkad to meet the last Odiyan". The word "last" was registered in his mind and became the plot point in his screenplay. His story is about the last surviving Odiyan and the reasons his clan is almost extinct.

The initial plan was to shoot the film in 3D but the plan was later dropped. In March 2017, it was reported that A. Sreekar Prasad would be the film's editor (he was later replaced by Johnkutty), M. Jayachandran as music director, P. M. Satheesh as sound designer, Peter Hein as stunt coordinator and Gokuldas (replaced by Prashanth Madhav) as art director.

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

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