Kayamkulam Kochunni (2018)

Interesting facts

Kayamkulam Kochunni is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language epic period action film directed by Rosshan Andrrews and written by Bobby & Sanjay. It is based on the life of Kayamkulam Kochunni, a famed outlaw who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor during the British Raj in the early 19th century Central Travancore. The film stars Nivin Pauly in the title role as Kayamkulam Kochunni alongside an ensemble cast including Priya Anand, Sunny Wayne, Babu Antony, Priyanka Thimmesh, Shine Tom Chacko, Manikandan R. Achari, M.S. Bhaskar, Sudheer Karamana, Sidhartha Siva and Mukundan. Mohanlal appears in an extended cameo role as Ithikkara Pakki, a highly talented thief and mentor to Kochunni.

Production

By late August 2016, Rosshan Andrrews confirmed via media outlets that he would be directing a film based on the life of Kerala's heroic outlaw Kayamkulam Kochunni, written by his regular collaborators Bobby & Sanjay and Nivin Pauly playing the title character, to be produced by Gokulam Gopalan. It is the second film based on Kayamkulam Kochunni after the 1966 film of the same name.

Kayamkulam Kochunni is a period film set in the 1850s and 1860s in what is present-day Kerala. Bobby and Sanjay collected a large amount of information beyond what was already known through Kottarathil Sankunni's Aithihyamala and through hearsay. Sanjay said that the film focuses on Kochunni's relationships and friendship.

According to Andrrews, Nivin was their first and only choice for the role of Kochunni. The film traverse through multiple timelines in Kochunni's life. Nivin was selected for the role since Andrrews felt that he has a flexible body language that suits any role, among his generation of actors. According to Sanjay, Nivin's features matches Sankunni's descriptions of Kochunni in Aithihyamala.

In late 2017, Amala opted out from the film due to scheduling conflicts, who was replaced by Priya Anand. Andrrews said the rain affected their schedule and had to make changes, which conflicted with Amala's dates who had commitments in Tamil films. Priya cancelled three films for Kayamkulam Kochunni; she plays Janaki. According to Priya, Janaki's story is relevant to every woman.

Principal photography commenced on 30 September 2017 in Udupi, Karnataka. In the first schedule the team filmed in locations such as Mangalore, Manjeshwar, and Udupi for two months. It was reported that the filming would move to Sri Lanka for the following schedule. Nivin trained in Kalaripayattu every morning before shoot under trainers from Kerala. He had a shot crop haircut and wears a handlebar moustache for the character of Kochunni.

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