Unni Mukundan will headline Malikappuram, filming of which commenced at Erumeli Sri Dharmashasta Temple. Produced by Kavya Film Company (Mamangam) and Ann Mega Media, the film marks the directorial debut of Vishnu Sasi Shankar, son of the late filmmaker Sasi Sankar (Kunjikoonan, Mr Butler), who also handles the editing.

Malikappuram has a script by Abhilash Pillai, who penned the recent Pathaam Valavu, Night Drive and the Tamil film Cadaver.

In a chat with us, Abhilash says Malikappuram, as the title implies, has a female Sabarimala devotee as the protagonist. "It's about an 8-year-old girl Kalyani who regards Ayyappan as a superhero," he says, adding that Unni Mukundan's character will have a novelty factor as he has not essayed a character like this before. "It's a family drama with some fantasy elements."  

Aside from Unni Mukundan, Malikappuram will also star Devanandha as the titular protagonist. The other cast members are Indrans, Manoj K Jayan, Saiju Kurup, Ramesh Pisharody, Sampath Ram, Sripath, and Alfie Panjikaran. The team will shoot in Sabarimala and surrounding locations.

Vishnu Narayanan is behind the camera. Ranjin Raj is handling the music and background score, with lyrics by Santhosh Varma.