Aside from the recently announced Ayyappan (which will star Prithviraj) and Pathinettam Padi—both helmed by Shankar Ramakrishnan—August Cinema will be bringing out Prithvi, from debutant director Abijith Asokan, who previously produced the Kerala State Award-winning children’s film, Kolumittayi. The pre-production work is currently underway.

Recently, a first look poster was released, leading some on social media to speculate, given the title, that the film has some connection to actor Prithviraj. “The Prithvi here refers to earth. Nature plays an important part in the story,” says Abijith, adding, “It’s a pure, light-hearted family film with dreams as one of its themes. I would call it a socially-committed story based on true incidents.”

The cast and crew details are being discussed at the moment. Abijith tells us that a well-known composer, who was a major topic of discussion on social media recently, will be scoring the film. As for the actors, the team is looking at both established names and fresh faces as well. “There are around eight major characters in the film and we are looking for highly skilled actors. The full cast will be announced soon,” says the filmmaker.

Considering the relevance of nature in the story, the team is on the lookout for appropriate locations to figure out the right visual language.

“The idea is to do something of artistic value with a skilled and like-minded group of individuals. And Shaji Nadesan (producer) was very open-minded about the script. He is someone who respects a filmmaker’s vision and doesn’t interfere. He was totally on board with the idea,” adds Abijith.

August Cinema last produced Theevandi, which was an unexpected success at the box office. The film turned out to be the biggest hit of Tovino Thomas’ career.