'Vineeth is playing a strong character after a long time'

After a gap of five years, Thejas Perumanna is returning to direction with a musical love story titled Madhaveeyam, which stars Vineeth and newcomer Pranaya. The former plays the role of an artist who falls in love with a poor girl.

"Vineeth is playing a strong character after a long time," says Thejas, who made his debut with Shashinas (1995), and later made Poonilaavu (1997) and Mizhi (2013).

Talking about the story, the filmmaker says their aim was to do a more realistic subject different from what audiences are used to seeing. "The film revolves around the couple's relationship and how it is challenged by some unexpected events. Vineeth's character meets the one played by Pranaya on a film set and asks her to be a model for him. He later learns that she comes from a poor family, and her beauty is her only asset. But he marries her regardless. I believe we have done justice to the story."

Shot on a shoestring budget, the film was completed within a month. Madhaveeyam will have a strong musical presence with four songs written by Sudhi, who also co-wrote the script with Thejas. Babu Namboothiri, Madhu Sreekumar, Suresh Babu, C.V. Dev, Geetha Vijayan, Kuttyedathi Vilasini, Ambika Mohan and Dr Kochu S Mani form the supporting cast. V Aravind is the cinematographer. The film, which is scheduled for a November 23 release, is produced by Nandhanamudra Films, with 72 Film Company in charge of distribution. 

Vineeth made his debut in IV Sasi's Idanilangal (1985). He was last seen in Vinod Mankara's Kambhoji, alongside Lakshmi Gopalaswamy. He will be next seen in Rajiv Menon's Sarvam Thala Mayam.