Jayasurya, Biju Menon in murder mystery

Director Madhupal has never shied away from picking up daring subjects for his films. After Thalappavu, which dealt with Naxalite insurgency in the 70s and Ozhimuri which portrayed the once-dominant matrilineal system in erstwhile Travancore, the filmmaker is gearing up to helm a murder mystery, with Jayasurya and Biju Menon in the lead roles.
“The film is based on the real life murder case of Sundariamma in 2012,” says Madhupal.“It’s not a run-of-the-mill murder mystery and doesn’t deal with a police investigation. I don’t want to reveal other details right now.” The Sundariamma murder case had created a furore as the police had tried to frame an orphan for murdering the 70-year-old, who lived alone in her house at Kozhikode. In 2014, the court acquitted the accused and sought action against the cops who were found guilty of perjury, while the case remains unsolved.
The upcoming film, scripted by Jeevan Job Thomas, will be set in the contemporary era and is tentatively scheduled to go on floors by June. On its cast, Madhupal says, “Jayasurya, Biju Menon and Chemban Vinod have been signed on for the project. We are in discussions with other actors too.”
Jayasurya was earlier reported to have been cast in the role of the accused orphan. However, both the actor and Madhupal prefer to keep his character under wraps. The actor though tells us that he had been discussing a few subjects with the director for a few years and is glad he could work with him in the yet-to-be-titled movie.
“For an actor, working with Madhupal is always exciting because you know his characters are well-fleshed out and has a lot of scope for performance,” says Jayasurya. He will join the Madhupal film after he completes filming IDI, Shahjahanum Pareekuttyum and Pretham.