After the Asif Ali-starrer Mandaram, writer M Sajas has opted for a different, more serious direction with Vela, in which Shane Nigam and Sunny Wayne essay police officers. Sajas calls it an "emotion-centric crime drama" whose core subject takes inspiration from actual events. Set in Palakkad, the film will feature the terrain and culture of the region prominently.

"It takes place entirely inside a police control room in Palakkad. I don't believe there has been a Malayalam film before that ventured into similar territory, except for maybe, briefly, Traffic (2011)," he adds, clarifying that it bears no similarities with the recent Ila Veezha Poonchira, which focused on a remote high range police outpost.

For the script research, Sajas found inspiration in some real-life events encountered by his father, an ex-policeman, in addition to inputs he got from some cops currently active. "Vela throws light on their professional and personal lives and politics through a realistic-cinematic treatment. We neither wanted a too cinematic approach nor a too arthouse one," he says.

Sajas promises that Vela, which has Shane essaying a civil police officer, will present a "different side" of the actor. "Vela is a purely character-oriented film, with Shane and Sunny's characters driving the story forward. The entire film hinges upon them." The makers have released the first-look posters of the two actors in character. Actor-filmmaker Sidharth Bharathan also appears in the film as a senior police official.

Debutant Syam Sasi, Sajas' long-time friend with whom he has worked on commercials, directed Vela, with backing from S George's banner Cyn-Cyl Celluloid, which last bankrolled the Mammootty-starrer Puzhu.

Shot by cinematographer Suresh Rajan (Thottappan, Kuttavum Shikshayum), Vela has Mahesh Bhuvanend (Madhuram) on the editing table, while Sam CS (Kaithi, Vikram Vedha) composes the music.