Aickarakkonathe Bhishagwaranmaar, a film made for a noble cause 

UAE-based entrepreneur-cum-filmmaker Sohan Roy is coming out with a film called Aickarakonathe Bhishagwaranmaar (Physicians of Aickarakonam) which takes on a socially-relevant issue. 

The small-budget project features a host of newcomers and revolves around the commercialisation of ayurveda and the corruption of the much-revered ayurvedic system of medicine. Directed by Biju Majeed, the project is bankrolled by Sohan's wife Abhini Sohan under the banner of Aries Telecasting Pvt Ltd. 

"Things have reached a point where ayurveda is ruining ayurveda," says Sohan, who is a proponent of the system. "Traditional ayurvedic practitioners, who did not amass their knowledge through professional medical colleges, are being branded as quacks by other medical practitioners, some of whom are ayurvedic specialists themselves. Authentic ayurvedic medicines carried no preservatives and side effects. But today ayurveda is slowly becoming indistinguishable from allopathy."

The film, which will be released in 10 languages, tells the story of a traditional ayurvedic physician and his family. Sohan says it was intended as a charity project. Part of the revenue generated will go into flood relief operations as well as rebuilding homes for the flood-affected and part of it will be used for the welfare of film technicians. 

The 175 young talents, technicians, and actors who worked on the film were acquired through a talent hunt. The Malayalam version will be released this Friday. Theatrical releases in other languages are being planned for later dates, says Sohan.

Aickarakkonathe Bhishagwaranmaar stars Vipin Mangalassery, Sinseer Mohammed Koya, Miyasree, Lalu Alex, Sunil Sukhada, Shivaji Guruvayoor, and Saju Navodaya among others.