THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A star-studded Malayalam film has created record by finishing its shooting in just 12 hours using nine camera units. The film also has chilling scenes of commandoes being airdropped atop a hospital to free the home minister taken hostage by terrorists.
“This is a tribute to the National Security Guard (NSG) commandoes who saved lives of hundreds of people when terror shook India’s commercial capital and all brave-hearts who guard us,” the film’s producer Vijesh Mani said.
Mohanlal, the hero of two war films by Major Ravi including the Kargil-inspired Kurukshetra, plays a gynecologist who fights the terrorists along with the commandoes. The film named Bhagavan is set to release on Jan. 23. “I like to go in for experiments and when I heard the theme and its treatment I felt that I should do this film. The film will be shot in a hospital with little change in costumes,” Mohanlal said before the shooting.
The entire film is set in a hospital and the shooting took only half a day to finish. Cameras began to roll exactly at 9 a.m. and came to a halt a few minutes before 9 p.m. as the director yelled the final “Cut!’ in a hospital in Thrissur.
The film to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs20 million has 150 artists, including the national award-winner Priya Mani and Laxmi Gopalaswamy, the leading lady. There are four songs and heavy fighting that the theme demands. A day before the shooting, there was a dress rehearsal for the 12-hour shooting by the technicians at the hospital. “It was my dream to complete a commercial film within the shortest span of time. It took the shortest time to conceive the idea and scripting and Mohanlal was readily available when she was told about the idea. I’m sure it’s a world record,” director Mampully said.
“The essential ingredients of a commercial film all are there in Bhagavan.” The shooting of the full-length feature film by debutant Prashant Mampully went on exactly as planned. The film is produced under the banner of Anaswara Cinemas.
Mohanlal has recently awarded Rs 100,000 to the family of police officer Mohan Chand Sharma, who died during the Jamia Nagar shootout in Delhi and said being hero of two films about the javans, he had great respect for them.